Progress Residential to Grow Its Affordable Housing Operations
Announces Plans to Increase Access to Affordable Single-Family Rental Housing
SCOTTSDALE, AZ – November 8, 2022 – Progress Residential, the nation’s leading single-family rental (SFR) management services platform, today announced, in a joint press release with Pretium, plans to grow its affordable single-family rental housing operations in markets across the country. Initiatives include:
- Increasing Participation in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP). While Progress currently serves families who rely on the HCVP, today’s announcement reflects the organization’s intent to accelerate and expand the number of homes available to voucher users, meaning greater impact and access for individuals and families in need.
- Pursuing Innovative, Community-Based Partnerships to Increase Affordable Housing. This summer and fall, Progress Residential worked with the City of Atlanta to successfully relocate dozens of families from Forest Cove, a neglected apartment complex, into single-family residences – creating a model for public-private partnership that the company aims to replicate in other communities. With a commitment to these initiatives, Progress will provide even more families access to affordable, quality, clean, and safe private housing.
- Reporting Positive Rent Payments to Credit Bureaus. Earlier this year, Progress announced a groundbreaking partnership with Esusu, the leading financial technology platform leveraging data to empower renters. One of the first programs implemented through this partnership was positive rent reporting, a free service offered to all Progress renters that reports on time rent payments to all three major credit bureaus to help build credit, improve financial wellness, and lead to wealth creation. View full release here.
- Promoting Financial Literacy and Credit Education. Going forward, Progress and Esusu will be rolling out additional programs and services for Progress residents, including financial literacy and credit education tools available through the Esusu Renters Marketplace.
- Providing Security Deposit Alternatives. Recognizing moving is expensive and can create financial strains on new residents, this week, Progress announced the pilot of a new security deposit program in Atlanta, GA, and Columbus, OH, that provides greater flexibility and options for new residents to pay their security deposits. This includes options to pay up front in full, to pay in monthly installments, or a Zero Deposit™ program with a low monthly security deposit waiver fee instead of a security deposit. Progress will be looking at opportunities to expand this program to additional markets in 2023.
- Connecting residents with rental assistance resources. We are proud to have helped our residents secure more than $111 million in rental assistance since March 2020.
“Progress and Pretium share a strong commitment to being part of the housing solution in our country,” said Adolfo Villagomez, Chief Executive Officer of Progress Residential. “We recognize the growing demand for affordable housing options, and we expect that demand to grow as the overall housing supply continues to compress.
“Progress has the capability and opportunity to provide access to affordable single-family rental homes in great neighborhoods with amenities like grocery stores, schools, and reliable transportation,” continued Villagomez. “As a leader in the SFR industry, we have a responsibility to step up to meet this need, and this is just the beginning.”
To support this critical work, Progress has made investments in its operational infrastructure and added or promoted talent to advance its expansion of affordable housing, including:
- Jennifer Keogh, Vice President, Affordable Housing, and Darron Mitchell, Senior Director of Housing Choice: Jennifer and Darron lead a growing team focused on building Progress’ affordable housing strategies and expansion efforts.
- Rickie Maddox, Director of Operations for Affordable Housing: Rickie is based in Atlanta and focused on continuing to build the operations infrastructure to support Progress’ expanding affordable housing program.
- Jameica Lollis (Atlanta) and Valentina Avdulov (Minnesota), Community and Resident Engagement Specialists: These new roles in key markets were created to provide an additional layer of support for the unique needs of HCVP residents, including housing and social service needs. They serve as resident advocates and community liaisons, maintaining strong relationships with housing authorities and local leaders.
“I am incredibly proud of the way our team members have driven our work to expand affordable housing,” said Harish Ramalingam, Chief Operating Officer for Progress. “While we are still in our infancy and have significant work ahead to continue to build our operational infrastructure to support our affordable housing expansion, I could not be more excited that we have started this journey. We are already seeing the positive impact these initiatives are making on the lives of the individuals and families we serve. We look forward to continuing to grow our footprint and provide much needed housing options for this underserved segment of our population.”
About Progress Residential
Progress Residential is a market leader in intelligent single-family rental management services, with people, technology, scale and data-driven solutions that streamline operations, optimize asset performance, and provide an exceptional renting and living experience for our residents. Progress Residential’s approximately 2,500 employees currently manage approximately 80,000 homes across 30 markets. Progress Residential also offers third-party property management service for investors with mid-to-large single-family rental home portfolios and Built to Rent communities through its Progress Residential Management Services. For more information, please visit www.rentprogress.com