Top Trends in Rental Property Management

For rental property management companies to succeed, it's important to have an awareness of what's going on in the industry. Are you up-to-date with the latest trends? In this article, we'll explore which ones to keep top of mind.

According to the National Association of Residential Property Managers article:

"The fastest growing segment of rental households is the over 50 age group where the rise was from 10 million households to 15 million households - accounting for over half the growth in rental households in last 10 years."

What You Need to Know About Rental Property Management:

• Demographic trends impact your property management business.
• Your rental property management company doesn't need to be a trendsetter, but you do need to follow trends and be ready to act on them.
• From the price of housing to an aging population, demographics influence who's living in your area and the type of housing they want. Drastic changes are due in the next few years.

Property managers must stay on top of these trends in order to provide the housing and amenities that tenants seek:

1. Seniors Are Active and Renting in Retirement

Not only are seniors choosing to rent more often, they're also more active. They're looking for fun and recreation, including:

• Homes surrounded by trails
• Community classes
• Volunteer opportunities
• Cultural events
• Access to transportation to get there

More and more families are looking for homes that can accommodate multiple generations.

2. Multiple Generations Living in the Same Home

According to the National Association of Residential Property Managers,

"Households who move from a single family rental also tend to move to another single family rental."

However, housing affordability is also a critical issue for families. This means that seniors, families with young children, and Millennials are coming together to make single family housing work for them. There are more families with multiple generations living in the same home.

These families have different and more diverse needs than families that are only a single generation. These families are seeking homes that can provide both space and privacy and neighborhood amenities that span the generations, from recreation classes, walking trails, and libraries for seniors to easy access to jobs and transit for Millennials.

3. More People Are Working from Home

Working from home isn't unusual any more. In fact, it's become quite normal. According to Global Workplace Analytics, at least "20-25% of the population teleworks with some frequency." About 22% of the self-employed population also works from home.

This means that almost a quarter of your tenants could be looking for the amenities that make telework possible:

• A private office space
• Reliable, fast web access
• Storage spaces
• Access to co-working spaces and cafes

4. Couples Choosing Not to Have Children

Whether they're postponing child-raising until their careers are more established or they're choosing not to have children at all, there are more couples in their twenties, thirties, and beyond who do not have children. Many companies marketing homes to those in their mid-twenties to early fifties have assumed that these couples have children. Today, many do not.

This means that they're not necessarily looking for a single family home surrounded by playgrounds, schools, and recreational opportunities. Instead they're seeking urban culture and entertainment, access to gyms, classes, and social opportunities.

 

Rental Property Management Companies Must Keep Up with Trends

To grow your property management business and stay up-to-date with industry trends, you need the right tools.

With Propertyware Analytics and Reporting, you get easy-to-use, powerful analytics tools to make more profitable business decisions.  Reports can be easily shared by email, scheduled for automated delivery or published into your owner portals.

Our straightforward dashboards help you better understand your data and recognize critical trends occurring in real-time.  You can perform data trend analysis for month-over-month, year-over-year, or custom date ranges.

You can receive real-time data on vacancies, collections, maintenance, marketing and more—virtually every area of your property management business. A comprehensive view of your business performance means no surprises.