MRI Software in conjunction with the National Apartment Association has released its 2024 Voice of the Property Manager Survey. According to the property manager survey, apartment managers like their jobs, but some would not recommend the career path to others.
Multifamily property managers report being happy in their work roles, with their coworkers and with the training and flexibility their jobs offer. That’s why surveyors were surprised that more respondents (38 percent) were detractors of the property management career than in 2022.
Analysts of the property manager survey cite multiple factors for the increase in the number of respondents who would refuse to recommend their jobs to others. In 2022, the industry was coming off its best year on record, inflation was just beginning to moderate, wages were still growing, consumers still had excess savings and job opportunities were abundant. This year, inflationary pressures have lessened, but wage growth has weakened and job openings have shrunk, along with household balance sheets.
Detractors of a property management career claim their workload is too busy and rank their job flexibility low. In addition, 94 percent of detractors said their mental health is impacted by their jobs, compared with 40 percent survey-wide.
Promoters of a career in property management were more likely to be proud of where they work and report a better work-life balance than all the other survey participants and report less job-related mental and physical health issues.
The majority of both promoters and detractors of a property management career are seasoned professionals with seven or more years of experience.
The primary challenges reported this year by 22 percent of respondents are aggressive and abusive residents and the inability to disconnect from their jobs after hours. This indicates that confrontational interactions and separating work from personal time are major stressors for property management staff that could contribute to health concerns.
Positive takeaways from the survey include: 74 percent of survey respondents feel they have the necessary tools and resources to fulfill their role; 86 percent praise their coworkers; 72 percent appreciate the flexibility they’ve been given and 82 percent express pride in the organization they work for.
The chart below looks at how satisfied respondents are in their roles
The highest levels of dissatisfaction among respondents relate to salary (25 percent), technology usage by their team (17 percent) and support from management, also 17 percent.
Despite these concerns, 59 percent of respondents are satisfied with their compensation, 60 percent indicate a desire to grow in the industry, either through more responsibility in their current role, or moving into a corporate position, and 74 percent see themselves remaining in the industry three years from now.
According to the Bureau of labor Statistics, employment in the real estate rental and leasing category was reported up 3,000 jobs for the month of July.
The entire survey is available here.
