The Delivery Dilemma: How Package Deliveries Are Disrupting Multifamily Properties

As e-commerce continues to overthrow brick-and-mortar retail, the multifamily real estate industry is feeling the impact of online shopping’s biggest side effect: package deliveries. According to ButterflyMX data, package delivery volume at multifamily properties is estimated to grow almost 15% per year through 2025. The company analyzed data gathered from more than 18,000 apartment units in the Phoenix metropolitan area to measure package delivery rates and understand how deliveries impact apartment owners, operators and residents.  

Phoenix’s multifamily market has reacted to recent positive economic performance on the supply side. Developers in the Phoenix metropolitan area delivered 7,701 units in 2022 through July and had another 34,700 under construction, according to data from Yardi Matrix. 

As Phoenix’s multifamily market grows, so does the number of packages being delivered to renters throughout the area. In fact, Phoenix is one of the leading cities for package delivery growth quarter over quarter across the ButterflyMX platform, with growth of 9% in the fourth quarter of 2022. But with more package deliveries come new security challenges for multifamily property owners and managers. 

When delivery carriers arrive at an apartment building to drop off packages, the first matter of business is getting through the front door or gate. Without proper access, couriers must leave packages outside the building or in unprotected lobbies and vestibules — which often results in package theft. In fact, 54% of respondents to a March 2022 survey conducted by security.org reported they had experienced package theft at least once.

“With growing supply and growing package delivery, new apartment units require technology to ensure residents’ packages are secure and their time is not wasted dealing with stolen or misplaced packages,” explained Cyrus Claffey, founder of ButterflyMX. “Buildings without a front desk, package rooms or other secure areas to store deliveries are more likely to deal with package theft, which is a burden for both residents and property managers who are often called on to help investigate stolen packages reported to law enforcement or delivery services.”

To address the delivery dilemma, multifamily owners and operators are increasingly turning to package management solutions like ButterflyMX, which help prevent package theft, maintain security at their buildings, and ease the burden on property staff.  

Phoenix Apartment Residents Are Receiving Lots of Package Deliveries — With More on the Way

Data collected by ButterflyMX indicates that renters in Phoenix received more packages in 2022 than in 2021. If packages continue to grow at the current rate, deliveries will double in the Phoenix area by 2026, further compounding issues with accepting, storing and managing packages.

Package Deliveries Are on the Rise Across the Country

Cities throughout the U.S. are seeing explosive year-over-year growth in the number of packages delivered to multifamily residences.

Data indicates that if Phoenix’s growth rate holds, ButterflyMX properties are on track to receive more than 4,400 packages in 2023.

Aaron Rudenstine is chief executive officer of ButterflyMX, a provider of access control technology for multifamily, commercial, gated communities and student housing properties. He was a co-founder of Citymaps, which was acquired by TripAdvisor in 2016, and is an investor in Reddit, Button and Omaze, among others.