First Quarter 2026 Benchmark Results for Mystery Shops and Resident Surveys
Executive Summary
Thank you for your continued support of Ellis, Edge2Learn, and Grace Hill. We have been fortunate to have the support of your teams and to have provided this Quarterly Benchmark Letter and Industry Performance Metrics for over two decades.
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We greatly appreciate your partnership and look forward to sharing more valuable insights with you.
Overall Results
Mystery Shops
We benchmark apartment mystery shop performance against the 10 key benchmark questions and the Customer Experience for telephone and onsite presentations.
For 2025, the average Ellis Traditional Multifamily Industry Benchmark score across Ellis’ entire database of eligible shops was 83%. Ellis Traditional Multifamily Industry Benchmark performance for First Quarter 2026 is 80%. In 2025, the average Ellis Customer Experience Benchmark was 3.7. Ellis Customer Experience Benchmark performance for First Quarter 2026 is 3.7.
Mystery Shops Overall Performance
ELLIS BENCHMARK TOP PERFORMING MYSTERY SHOPPING COMPANIES FIRST QUARTER 2026
Ellis wishes to congratulate the companies below on their Ellis Shopping Benchmark performance for First Quarter 2026.
*Companies are listed in alphabetical order
| Tier 1 (70 or more completed shops) | Tier 2 (30 – 69 completed shops) |
| Ellis Traditional Benchmark Platinum Level Achievers – IMT Residential | |
| Ellis Customer Experience Benchmark Gold Level Achievers ** – Coastal Ridge Real Estate – Greystar Management Services | Ellis Customer Experience Benchmark Gold Level Achievers ** – Abbey Residential Services LLC – Allegiant-Carter Management – Bozzuto & Associates – Forty-Two, LLC – Gallery Residential – Hanover RS Limited Partnership – IMT Residential – Origin Investments – Woodward Management Partners | Inwood Holdings |
*Companies are listed in alphabetical order.
Resident Surveys
The Ellis Loyalty Benchmark identifies and recognizes the customer experience performance of companies subscribed to the Ellis Resident Surveys Program. It evaluates performance on five key touchpoints of the prospect and resident journey. The percentage of surveys onsite teams responded to and the average number of days it takes for the team to respond are also measured because these two factors impact the customer relationship and overall loyalty. Utilizing customer loyalty as a metric allows customer-centric companies the ability to forecast three specific customer behaviors: likelihood to convert/renew, willingness to pay more, and likelihood to recommend.
The overall average Ellis Loyalty Benchmark score in 2025 was 83%. The Ellis Loyalty Benchmark for First Quarter 2026 is 84%. In 2025, the onsite response rate averaged 82% and is 86% for First Quarter 2026. The average response time in 2025 was 4.9 days; in First Quarter 2026, it was 4.0 days.
Resident Surveys Overall Average Performance
The customer loyalty score is based on a scale of 0%-100% (see chart below):
ELLIS BENCHMARK TOP PERFORMING RESIDENT SURVEYS COMPANIES FIRST QUARTER 2026
Ellis wishes to congratulate the companies below for their Ellis Surveys Benchmark performance for First Quarter 2026.
*Companies are listed in alphabetical order
| Ellis Best in Class Achievers Tier 1 (1,600 or more units) | Ellis Best in Class Achievers Tier 2 (1,599 or fewer units) |
| – Avanti Residential – Fore Property Company – Friedman Realty Group – Guardian Management, LLC – Manco Abbott Inc – Olympus Property – ResideBPG – Russo Property Management – Simpson Property Group – Steadfast Management – Woodmont Properties – Zaremba Management Company | – Asset Living – GDC Properties, Inc. – K.R.I. Properties, Inc. – StarPoint Properties, LLC – TM Realty Services |
*Companies are listed in alphabetical order.
Question/Touchpoint Results: How Did We Do?
Mystery Shops
The charts below reflect the average score of Ellis’ entire database for each of the 10 key benchmark questions for telephone/onsite shops for First Quarter 2026, as well as the Customer Experience for telephone/onsite shops by category for this quarter.
Resident Surveys
The chart below reflects the average scores across all Ellis Resident Surveys companies for each survey touchpoint for First Quarter 2026, as well as the combined overall loyalty score and average accountability performance results.
We thank you again for your support, participation, and feedback, which help make this report informative, fresh, and reliable. We hope you find Grace Hill to be not only the finest source for apartment mystery shopping and resident surveys but also a training resource for your organization.
For additional support and information, visit Ellis – A Grace Hill Company, Grace Hill, and Edge2Learn.
Prepared by Lisa Ford, Senior Director, Mystery Shopping Services
Grace Hill
4545 Fuller Drive | Suite 406
Irving, TX 75038
888.988.3767 telephone
[email protected]
www.epmsonline.com | www.gracehill.com
Footnotes: See Ellis website for Mystery Shop Benchmark and Resident Surveys Benchmark eligibility, tier level, and recognition requirements for apartment mystery shops and resident surveys.