DALLAS, TX - Pinnacle, one of the nation's leading multifamily management firms, announced the formation of a Canadian property management division, Rhapsody Property Management Services. The new company is a joint venture between PPMS Holding Corp., a Pinnacle Company, and a leading Canadian real estate investor.
Headquartered in Toronto, Rhapsody will be operational throughout Canada with a focus in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Ottawa. The company is currently engaged to provide services on 10 new projects, the first of which is The Metropolitan, a 430-unit luxury lease-up in downtown Calgary with preleasing starting this summer.
Rob Martin will be at the helm of the new entity as senior vice president, bringing a unique blend of U.S. and Canadian multifamily management experience. He explains that the Canadian rental market has historically had a high concentration of condominium sales or rental product that is self-managed by REITS or smaller to mid-size firms. Rhapsody was formed to address the need for sophisticated third party management in Canada and will provide another level of service previously unseen in the market.
"Rhapsody is setting a new standard by introducing best-in-class property management services for purpose-built rental properties," says Martin. "This introduces a long-awaited option for residents who are not ready to own for one reason or another, but desire the upscale features that are available in condominium communities."
Over the past three years, the demand drivers for purpose-built rental housing have been escalating in Canada. Overall vacancy rates, hovering around 3 percent, have been consistently low and the cost for home ownership is high. All of these factors prompted the genesis of the new property management division.
"There are a significant number of developers in Canada who are being advised to build highly amenitized product as a result of the transitioning market," says Pinnacle's President & CEO Rick Graf. "Our understanding of this new trend in Canada and our experience managing high-end multifamily communities in the United States makes Rhapsody a viable solution for these developments."
Martin has an extensive property management background on both sides of the border. As a lease-up and operations expert, primarily in the student housing sector, he brings a strong marketing and customer service focus to Rhapsody.
Prior, Martin was the founder of Campus Housing Consulting where he provided student housing advisory services to investors, developers, lenders and operators. He led Campus Habitat, LLC to be named one of the Fastest Growing Real Estate Companies by Inc. 500 for three consecutive years. He also held positions at notable firms such as United Campus Housing Management, Campus Apartments LLC, First Worthing and American Campus Communities. Martin has been involved with over $1 billion of student housing transactions over the course of his career.