The 2016 ORA™ Power Rankings series opens with ranking the Top 50 Properties with the Best Online Reputation in the nation for 2015.
The leader of the pack is The Kensington, Boston, MA managed by Bozzuto with an ORA™ score of 94. Though it ranked number four in 2014, The Kensington has consistently improved its rankings through the year to be best in class in 2015. Bozzuto also has the highest number of properties (four) in the 2015 Top 50 Properties list. What makes The Kensington stand out, “Our team’s reaction time and consistent follow up to all resident questions or concerns, I believe is what sets us apart,” shared Daniel Pereira, general manager, The Kensington.
In comparison to 2014, when the national average ORA™ score was 52, in 2015 it jumped up two points to 54. The top ORA™ score for a property has notched up three points from 91 in 2014 to 94 in 2015. This elevation in ORA™ scores is indicative of the increasing attention management companies and properties are paying to online review management. Not only are properties becoming more cognizant of incorporating reviews on review sites and ILSs, the reviews are also becoming more balanced. They no longer are limited to being “gripe sessions.”
New entrant, The Laurel Apartments, St. Louis, MO, managed by Laramar ranks number two with an ORA™ score of 94. Happy to hear the news, Nicole Lindquist, community manager, The Laurel Apartments said that her mantra for success is to, “Create a solid camaraderie through constant teamwork within the office, and to build a comfortable, and fun environment for the residents.”
With an ORA™ score of 93, Westminster Tower, Tacoma, WA, took the third spot. It is managed by Renaissance Limited.
A property that has consistently maintained a position in the Top five through 2015 is Pohlig Box Factory, Richmond VA. With an ORA™ score of 93; it closed the year at the fourth place. “Superior customer service and communication with residents is the key to managing online reputation,” shared Holly Hilton, resident manager, Pohlig Box Factory.
The biggest gainer since 2014 is Park Place One Apartments, Philadelphia, PA, managed by Fidelity Management. The property has raced from being number 25 in 2014 with an ORA™ score of 84 to number five in 2015 with an ORA™ score of 93.
| Rank | Management | ORA Score | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Kensington (Boston, MA) | Bozzuto | 94 |
| 2 | The Laurel Apartments (St Louis, MO) | Laramar | 94 |
| 3 | Westminster Tower (Tacoma, WA) | Renaissance Limited | 93 |
| 4 | Pohlig Box Factory (Richmond, VA) | Pohlig Management, LLC | 93 |
| 5 | Park Place One Apartments (Philadelphia, PA) | Fidelity Management | 93 |
| 6 | Bridford West (Greensboro, NC) | Greystar | 93 |
| 7 | Hampshire Apartments (Schenectady, NY) | Tri-City Rental | 93 |
| 8 | Mesa Pines (Costa Mesa, CA) | Pan American Properties | 93 |
| 9 | Natchez Landing (Metairie, LA) | 1st Lake Properties | 93 |
| 10 | Mirasol (Tampa, FL) | Privately Managed | 93 |
| 11 | Cityville on 9th (Des Moine, IA) | Hubbell | 93 |
| 12 | Palms Apartments (Las Vegas, NV) | Stout Management | 93 |
| 13 | Whisper Hollow (Maryland Heights, MO) | Banner Property Management | 92 |
| 14 | Madison Exeter (Reading, PA) | Madison Apartment Group | 92 |
| 15 | Avalon Marlborough (Marlborough, MA) | AvalonBay Communities, Inc. | 92 |
| 16 | The Enclave (Beavercreek, OH) | Towne Properties | 92 |
| 17 | The Beacon at Waugh Chapel (Gambrills, MD) | Bozzuto | 92 |
| 18 | Brunswick House (Washington, DC) | WC Smith | 92 |
| 19 | The Place at Fountains at Sun City (Sun City, AZ) | MCLife | 92 |
| 20 | 50 West Broadway (Boston, MA) | Corcoran Management | 92 |
| 21 | Modera Westshore (Tampa, FL) | Mill Creek Residential Trust | 92 |
| 22 | Old Town on the Monon (Carmel, IN) | Barrett and Stokely | 92 |
| 23 | Barton House Apartments (Arlington, VA) | Schlosberg Properties | 92 |
| 24 | Ashford Club (Tallahassee, FL) | RAM Partners, LLC | 92 |
| 25 | Arcadia Run (Manassas, VA) | Bozzuto | 92 |
| 26 | Sunset Garden Apartments (West Covina, CA) | Privately Managed | 92 |
| 27 | EVERLY (Wakefield, MA) | Monogram Residential | 92 |
| 28 | Oak Springs Ranch (Wildomar, CA) | Alliance Residential | 92 |
| 29 | Residences At Fountainhead (Tempe, AZ) | Pinnacle Properties | 92 |
| 30 | Towne House (St Louis, MO) | Berkshire Property Advisors | 91 |
| 31 | The Villages at Pecan Grove (Holly Springs, NC) | Bell Apartment Living | 91 |
| 32 | Salisbury Green Apartments (Concord, NH) | The Hodges Companies | 91 |
| 33 | Hawthorne at the Meadows (Kernersville, NC) | Hawthorne Residential Partners | 91 |
| 34 | LIV Ahwatukee (Phoenix, AZ) | IPA | 91 |
| 35 | St. Andrews Apartments (Newport News, VA) | Perrel Management | 91 |
| 36 | Arbor Forest Apartments (East Lansing, MI) | Privately Managed | 91 |
| 37 | Madison Greenview Terrace (Lancaster, PA) | Madison Apartment Group | 91 |
| 38 | The Retreat at Riverstone (Sugar Land, TX) | Orion Real Estate Services, Inc. | 91 |
| 39 | Mt Adams Apartments (Cincinnati, OH) | Towne Properties | 91 |
| 40 | The Hamilton Luxury Apartment Homes (Fishers, IN) | JC Hart | 91 |
| 41 | Encantada at Santa Monica (Albuquerque, NM) | Olympus | 91 |
| 42 | Countryside Corporate Apartments (Madison, WI) | Privately Managed | 91 |
| 43 | Landing (Dayton, OH) | Mccormack Baron Management, Inc. | 91 |
| 44 | The Boat House (The Colony, TX) | Billingsley Company | 91 |
| 45 | U Club Townhomes on Marion Pugh (College Station, TX) | American Campus Communities, Inc. | 91 |
| 46 | CityScape (Phoenix, AZ) | Alliance Residential | 91 |
| 47 | Arbors at Broadlands (Ashburn, VA) | Bozzuto | 90 |
| 48 | Bishops Gate at Somerset (Cincinnati, OH) | Towne Properties | 90 |
| 49 | The Courtyard (Garland, TX) | Luma Corp Inc. | 90 |
| 50 | Hawthorne at the Ridge (Madison, AL) | Hawthorne Residential Partners | 90 |
Methodology
In an ongoing series of ORA™ Power Rankings, MFE periodically publishes a new ranking of apartment properties and management companies based on different parameters. ORA™ Power Rankings is powered by J Turner Research. To arrive at the aggregated score, J Turner Research tracks and analyzes the online reputation of more than 55,000 apartment properties across multiple ratings websites, on a monthly basis. To overcome the challenge of multiple ratings scales, the company has devised a statistical model to establish a single score for each property. This score, based on a 0-100 scale, serves as a benchmark to compare and contrast individual properties—and portfolios—nationally.
Questions:
Please contact the J Turner Research team at research@jturnerresearch.com
