How EBRHA is Delivering Reliable Rental Pricing for Members

Beekin’s Ebby platform drives stability for EBHRA members with accurate, data-driven rental rates.

By Vidur Gupta, CEO, Beekin

In the vibrant East Bay, housing has always been in high demand. With the current
housing shortage in Northern California, rental housing can be a lucrative avenue for
individuals looking to invest in real estate and receive a steady income stream while
contributing additional living spaces to the market.

Unlike other forms of passive income, rental real estate investments rely heavily on
occupancy. A consistent flow of rental income is contingent upon strategic pricing, which
can mitigate vacancy risks and enhance renter retention rates. By adopting an
intelligent approach to pricing, property owners can transform real estate investments
into more secure assets.

Successful investors in the East Bay rely on EBHRA to help them understand local
market dynamics, comply with local laws, and balance profitability with renter
satisfaction.

“Many of our members come to us looking for advice on what to charge for rent,” said
EBRHA CEO Derek Barnes. “Small owner-operators can do research and factor in
renovations, but mostly it’s a lot of trial and error.”

Barnes and his team wanted to help members “take the guesswork out of setting rent
prices.” That search led them to Beekin, a decision intelligence platform-provider.
EBHRA recently implemented Beekin’s Ebby platform to resolve ambiguity and create
the EBRHA Vacancy Preparedness Program.

Ebby is an agile and robust automated valuation model (AVM) that uses a massive and
diverse store of data to accurately suggest rental prices in real time. With rental pricing
models powered by Ebby, EBRHA has provided incredible accuracy on rates throughout
the East Bay.

“We first started talking about the power of Ebby because of all the things we could do
with the incredibly accurate pricing data provided. That led us to this whole program
we’re setting up right now,” Barnes said of the Emergency Preparedness Program.
“Members can email us to utilize Ebby with information about their vacant rental units
and we can give them the most accurate market rate.”

EBHRA members range from small-scale property owners who provide affordable
housing in their neighborhoods to large enterprises seeking to maximize profits. Ebby
can produce positive results for members seeking the most sustainable rates or the
highest profit margins.

“Ebby has been an equally excellent resource for all our members,” reports Mic Burns,
membership specialist at EBRHA, whose team has completed more than 94 market-
rate lookups to date.

“So far, the feedback has all been super positive,” Burns said. “Everyone is thrilled with
their estimates and our team enjoys using Ebby. Most people are really excited, and
one member has been messaging us every week for information on new units as they
open.”

EBRHA will soon also be using Ebby to help members plan renovations and find the
best possible prices for the upgraded spaces.

“People reach out the moment a renter leaves,” said Barnes. “Suddenly owners can get
into the vacant units to make extensive repairs and it can be overwhelming. We’ll use
Ebby to build our program into a full-service stop for vacancies.”

After just a few months in operation, Ebby is already increasing customer retention,
driving operational efficiencies, and boosting NOI for EBRHA members. “It’s been
working really well, and we’ve gotten a lot of positive attention,” said Barnes.
EBRHA’s Vacancy Preparedness Program, powered by Ebby, is already up and
running. Members can visit the EBHRA website to schedule a vacancy preparedness
consultation.

Vidur Gupta is founder and CEO of Beekin, a data platform for apartments and rental
homes. A seasoned professional with prior roles as director at Notting Hill Genesis and
head of capital markets and analytics at Future Finance. He holds an M.B.A. in Finance
and Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.