UDR’s portfolio-wide partnership with Funnel delivers real results in Q1 2025
A fast rollout of Funnel’s CRM across UDR’s 60,000-unit portfolio helped reduce turnover and operationalize its next phase of centralization
UDR, the NMHC’s 15th largest owner, a publicly traded REIT, and a long-time leader in multifamily centralization, began its rollout of Funnel’s full product suite—starting with the CRM—and early indicators point to measurable operational impact. During the company’s earnings call on May 1, 2025, Chief Operating Officer Mike Lacy directly credited CRM implementation with helping reduce turnover and improve customer experience:
“The rollout of Funnel’s CRM has enabled us to better orchestrate the customer journey, providing our associates with actionable data and enhanced tools,” said UDR Chief Operating Officer Mike Lacy. “This contributed to a 300 basis point improvement in annualized turnover compared to the prior year period.”
“The rollout of Funnel’s CRM has enabled us to better orchestrate the customer journey, providing our associates with actionable data and enhanced tools,” said Lacy. “This contributed to a 300 basis point improvement in annualized turnover compared to the prior year period.”
—Mike Lacy, Chief Operating Officer, UDR
With turnover down and resident retention up, UDR reported better-than-expected same-store revenue and NOI growth of 2.6% and 2.8%, respectively. Lacy also cited the CRM’s role in improving renewal rates, driving blended lease rate acceleration, and streamlining team workflows.
These early results validate UDR’s decision to invest in technology that supports centralized operations and resident lifecycle management. With the full Funnel platform rolling out across its portfolio, the company is well-positioned to drive further efficiencies and elevate both the renter and associate experience in the quarters ahead.
UDR outgrew its own software and picked Funnel’s proven CRM to scale
UDR began administrative functions, sales, renewals, and move-ins years before centralization became a multifamily trend. For a long time, that meant custom building their own tools, because there were none available on the multifamily market that gave them the flexibility to operate how they wanted. While presenting on a panel at Forum, an executive retreat for believers in a better operating model, CTO Josh Gampp shared more about their decision to move to Funnel.
“We got to a point mid last year where we realized we’re not a software shop—we’re a real estate company,” Gampp. “We had been keeping an eye on Funnel for a few years… we realized Funnel was really passing us by in what we could do internally.”
“We got to a point mid last year where we realized we’re not a software shop—we’re a real estate company. We had been keeping an eye on Funnel for a few years… we realized Funnel was really passing us by in what we could do internally.”
— Josh Gampp, CTO, UDR
That realization led to a full product suite rollout—and one of the fastest implementations in Funnel history, with more than 160 communities onboarded in just eight weeks. The pace was made possible not just by technology, but by operational readiness.
“We are already taking advantage of being in a centralized operating model and you realize that is where your advantages are—it’s how you operate,” said Gampp. “Already having that operating model in place made it a bit easier to switch over [to Funnel], and our teams are very excited. Funnel is a much better product than what we built.”
“We are already taking advantage of being in a centralized operating model and you realize that is where your advantages are—it’s how you operate. Already having that operating model in place made it a bit easier to switch over [to Funnel], and our teams are very excited. Funnel is a much better product than what we built.”
— Josh Gampp, CTO, UDR
A rollout built for centralization, not chaos
The move to Funnel isn’t just a software upgrade. It’s the next step in UDR’s centralized operating model. With Funnel’s full renter-centric® platform, UDR is eliminating communication silos and streamlining the workflows that power its centralized model. This includes intelligent routing of renter inquiries, tour scheduling, screening, and fraud detection—all supported by a modern system that was purpose-built for multifamily.
As Gampp explained the success of that shift was as much about change leadership as it was about code. “We were very open in communicating [to associates] that it is a company decision, these are going to be better opportunities, better jobs, and here is what it means for all of you,” said Gampp. “But the message has to come from the top. If you don’t have that top player, you’re probably going to struggle.”
“We were very open in communicating [to associates] that it is a company decision, these are going to be better opportunities, better jobs, and here is what it means for all of you. But the message has to come from the top. If you don’t have that top player, you’re probably going to struggle.”
— Josh Gampp, CTO, UDR
UDR’s proactive communication, trust in its teams, and willingness to move fast are what set it apart. That boldness is now translating into bottom-line results.
A blueprint for performance in a centralized world
With Fenix AI-powered tools, and Funnel’s multifamily CRM live, future waves of roll-outs being mapped out, and a fully centralized model in place UDR is setting the standard for what modern operations can look like.
Their Q1 results show that this isn’t just a tech upgrade—it’s an operating evolution. With Funnel as their foundation, UDR is proving that the next chapter of multifamily performance belongs to operators who rethink how the work gets done.
Read more about how we enable centralization.