More Leases, Less Spend: How ComCapp Built a Performance-Driven Leasing Engine

Commerce Capital Partners (ComCapp) is a Texas-based multifamily operator managing a portfolio of over 5,119 units. With a decentralized operating model and communities concentrated in competitive submarkets, the team needed a more efficient, scalable way to drive leases while keeping marketing spend under control.

Working with Paul McClain, Fractional Director of Marketing on behalf of Commerce Capital Partners, the team adopted a portfolio-wide approach to leasing and marketing performance.

The Challenge: How Was ComCapp Managing Leasing Across a Fragmented Portfolio?

Before Apartment List, ComCapp had no cohesive ILS strategy. Marketing efforts were fragmented, spread across multiple platforms with limited visibility into what was performing.

Increasing competition across Texas markets added pressure to:

• Control rising advertising costs
• Improve leasing efficiency across multiple communities
• Maintain a consistent prospect pipeline across nearby properties
• Reduce manual workload on on-site teams

Without performance-based pricing or a centralized system, scaling marketing across the portfolio was difficult.

Why Did ComCapp Choose Apartment List?

ComCapp selected Apartment List for its pay-per-lease (PPL) pricing model. Pay-per-lease is a performance-based pricing structure in which operators pay only when a prospect completes a move-in attributed to the platform — with no fixed monthly fees.

"In today's competition, anything we can do to control cost and make sure spend drives impact is critical." — Paul McClain, Fractional Director of Marketing on behalf of Commerce Capital Partners

The team was drawn to:

• Paying only for actual move-ins rather than fixed monthly fees
• The ability to scale exposure up or down based on market conditions
• A platform built to support full portfolio adoption

After a successful pilot, ComCapp expanded to a full portfolio rollout.

How Did ComCapp Implement A-List Market and A-List Nurture?

ComCapp used a phased approach:

• Initial pilot with a subset of communities to test performance
• Performance validation across early campaigns
• Full portfolio onboarding after confirming cost efficiency and results

The portfolio-wide strategy included:

• A-List Market (PPL model) for performance-based acquisition
• LIFT (Apartment List's premium placement product) for targeted visibility increases in competitive submarkets
• Cross-Selling and Match AI to keep prospects within the ComCapp portfolio
• A-List Nurture to automate follow-ups and improve leasing team efficiency

This approach let ComCapp centralize marketing while maintaining flexibility at the asset level.

What Results Did ComCapp See with A-List Market and A-List Nurture?

Stronger Leasing Performance Across the Portfolio

• 37% of move-ins across 7 assets came from A-List Market’s Cross-Selling feature
• Increased ability to retain and convert prospects across nearby communities

Increased Visibility and Leasing Velocity

• Up to 50% increase in move-ins for communities using LIFT
• Improved performance in highly competitive, high-density submarkets

Operational Efficiency Gains

Since implementing A-List Nurture (Jan 2025):

• 43% of leads generated after hours
• 46% of tours booked after hours
• 28% lead-to-tour conversion rate
• 9,984 hours saved through automation
• $179,712 in operational cost savings

Improved Cost Control and ROI

• Consistently low cost-per-lease (CPL) despite increased competition
• Ability to scale spend efficiently with performance-based pricing
• Eliminated waste from fixed-cost advertising channels

“The PPL model ensures we only pay if a prospect moves in. In most cases, this outweighs paying a static monthly rate where performance isn’t guaranteed.”

— Paul McClain, AiinaT Brand Solutions Fractional Director of Marketing on behalf of Commerce Capital Partners

Key Takeaways

Performance-based pricing drives efficiency. Operators who pay only for closed leases can scale without overspending.

Portfolio-wide strategy compounds results. Cross-selling and centralized reporting improve performance across every asset, not just individual communities.

Flexibility matters in competitive markets. Tools like LIFT let teams respond quickly to shifting supply and demand conditions.

Automation frees teams for high-value work. A-List Nurture reduces manual follow-up workload while maintaining consistent prospect engagement.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is pay-per-lease pricing in multifamily?

Pay-per-lease is a performance-based pricing model in which multifamily operators pay a fee only when a prospect completes a move-in attributed to the platform. There are no fixed monthly fees, and no cost accumulates for unqualified leads or impressions.

What is A-List Nurture and how does it work?

A-List Nurture is Apartment List's AI-powered leasing assistant. It engages prospects via text, email, and chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, handling initial outreach, answering questions, and booking tours automatically. ComCapp saw 43% of leads and 46% of tours generated after hours through A-List Nurture.

What is Cross-Selling in A-List Market?

Cross-Selling is a feature within A-List Market that surfaces targeted property recommendations to renters as they browse, keeping prospects within an operator's portfolio across nearby communities. For ComCapp, Cross-Selling accounted for 37% of move-ins across seven assets.

What is LIFT and when should operators use it?

LIFT is Apartment List's premium placement product. It allows operators to increase their listing visibility in high-competition submarkets on a pay-per-lease basis, with no additional flat fees. ComCapp saw up to a 50% increase in move-ins at communities using LIFT.

How much can A-List Nurture save a leasing team?

Results vary by portfolio size and lead volume. ComCapp saved 9,984 hours and $179,712 in operational costs after implementing A-List Nurture in January 2025. Across the Apartment List platform, operators save an average of 42 hours per property per week.