The property management industry is growing with a CAGR of 2.5% projected from now until 2026. As borders reopen, people return to work, universities resume classes, and immigration continues, Canada will experience even greater demand for homes across the country. While this represents great business opportunities for property management companies, growth can often lead to a property manager’s destruction if it isn’t done sustainably.
For small- or medium-sized property managers, winning new contracts and introducing a large number of properties into their portfolio is top of mind. In order to win this business, they’re tempted to compete on price by offering rock bottom rates for their services. After winning the business, the margins are too thin to hire more employees to manage the larger amount of work. The result is unhappy tenants, lost contracts, and at times, going out of business.
Adopting the right tools can help a property manager grow sustainably by improving inefficient workflows so that there’s enough time and people to support the property management firm’s growth.
How can technology help support sustainable growth for property managers?
Redirecting resources to revenue-generating activities
Technology helps business owners spend less time on essential, but repeatable activities, such as scheduling, and allows them to focus on revenue-generating activities that increase positive cash flow such as:
- advertising and leasing vacant units
- increasing your property management firm’s marketing activities to build brand awareness
- negotiating more competitive contracts with vendors
- selling advertising space throughout the condominium for businesses such as doctors, dentists, furniture stores, and other relevant services
- restructuring their management fee structure to keep in line with the market and align their rates to the value they deliver
- offering value-added services to tenants such as concierge or cleaning services
Our customer surveys indicate an omnichannel property management application can increase time for revenue generating activities by over 10 percent.
Reducing unit turnover time
The faster property managers can fill vacant units, the more rental income they can receive. There are several steps required to fill a unit that take up property managers’ time including:
- tenant viewing
- tenant screening
- credit check
- leasing documentation
- payment
The National Apartment Association estimates that the cost to turn a single unit general starts around the $1,000 mark, but can easily grow, ranging between $2,500 to $5,000. A preventative strategy that improves tenant satisfaction is one of the best ways to reduce turnover.
Discover the full range of benefits technology offers both property managers and tenants when you download “The Profitable Property Manager” whitepaper.
