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Do Human Property Managers Make Money?

by | Feb 17, 2024

Property management might be one of the most AI-proof careers, not to mention recession-proof. “This is not a business that’s ever going to be fully automated,” says Doug Brien, CEO and co-founder of Mynd, a residential investment property tech company, “There’s always going to be people involved with property management.” You may be thinking “Humans doing work? How quaint!” Though working humans may soon be antiquated, it turns out that there’s a real market for this in property management. If there are any humans reading this article, this may be of interest to you.

Property managers who happen to be human can make a wide range of salaries. Salary.com says that managers can make between $50,000 to $198,000 annually. This variation depends on the number of properties you manage, whether you work part-time, whether you own the business, and many other factors.

As interest rates have skyrocketed, renting has become wildly popular. An article in The Hill is titled “More than half of Gen Z says renting is a better option than buying a home.” To prove that I read more than just the title, this article also reveals that two thirds of the 2,000 renters they surveyed were satisfied with renting, since it allowed flexibility to move, and to live in nicer neighborhoods than they could otherwise afford. Renting will likely always be popular, since homeownership is a massive financial commitment in any market, let alone the current one. As a result, the need for property managers is ever-increasing.

Bisnow National, a commercial real estate b2b platform, says that property owners are having trouble hiring property managers nationwide, and are increasingly offering more flexibility in hours to expand their hiring options. This is even in the midst of increasing reliance on non-human technology; for example, over a quarter of tenants lease homes without ever seeing them in person.

Though some aspects of property management can be automated, like billing and advertising, there really isn’t a completely non-human replacement for handling maintenance problems, dealing with tenant issues, understanding how to follow fair housing laws, eviction procedures, and other delicate, extremely human challenges. Any career that involves an amount of uncertainty mixed with emergency care is difficult to completely substitute with a robot, and property managers deal with countless unexpected maintenance and tenant-related events. “Property managers are like the ‘first responders’ of the real estate industry. They must respond promptly… handle emergencies, and ensure properties meet safety standards,” writes Dyana Branchen of Real Estate License Wizard.

If winning against the robots and management is up your alley, you might consider a career in property management. To become a property manager, many states require you to get a real estate license. Check your individual state requirements to see what type of licensing is required, if any. If your state requires you to get a real estate license, you can start your required license training with OnlineEd by clicking here. In Oregon, you can get a special property manager license; get your Oregon-required property manager education by clicking here.

https://thehill.com/business/4143860-more-than-half-of-gen-z-says-renting-is-a-better-option-than-buying-a-home/

https://realestatelicensewizard.com/do-property-managers-need-a-real-estate-license/

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/property-management-market-worth-36-4-billion-by-2028—exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302005796.html

https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/top-talent/pressure-is-on-for-property-managers-tasked-with-challenge-of-maintaining-profits-118762

https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/property-manager-senior-salary/portland-or

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