Property, Real Estate, or Community Association Manager

Property, real estate, and community association managers oversee many aspects of residential, commercial, or industrial properties. They ensure that the property is well maintained, has a nice appearance, operates smoothly, and preserves its resale value.

Duties

Property, real estate, and community association managers typically do the following:

  • Meet with prospective tenants or owners and show them properties
  • Discuss the lease and explain the terms of occupancy or ownership
  • Collect monthly fees from tenants or individual owners
  • Inspect building facilities, including the grounds and equipment
  • Arrange for new equipment or repairs as needed
  • Pay bills or delegate bill payment for such expenditures as insurance, maintenance, payroll, and taxes
  • Contract for landscaping, maintenance, trash removal, and other services
  • Investigate and settle complaints, disturbances, and violations
  • Keep records of rental activity and owner requests
  • Prepare budgets and financial reports
  • Comply with anti-discrimination laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Federal Fair Housing Amendment Act, when advertising or leasing properties

Real estate proprietors who lack the time or expertise needed for the day-to-day management of their properties often hire a property or real estate manager or a community association manager. These managers are employed either directly by the proprietor or indirectly through a contract with a property management firm.

Property and real estate managers oversee the operation of income-producing commercial or residential properties and ensure that real estate investments achieve their expected revenues. They handle the financial operations of the property, making certain that rent is collected and that mortgages, taxes, insurance premiums, payroll, and maintenance bills are paid on time. They may oversee financial statements, and they periodically report to the proprietors on the status of the property, occupancy rates, expiration dates of leases, and other matters. When vacancies occur, these managers may advertise the property or hire a leasing agent to find a tenant. They may also suggest to the proprietors how much to charge for rent.

Community association managers work on behalf of property members in a geographic group, such as homeowners in a subdivision, to manage common areas and services of condominiums, cooperatives, and planned communities. Usually hired by a community association’s volunteer board of directors, these managers supervise the daily affairs and maintenance of its property and facilities. Like property managers, community association managers collect monthly fees, prepare financial statements and budgets, negotiate with contractors, and help to resolve complaints. Community association managers also help homeowners and non-owner residents comply with the association's rules and regulations.

The following are examples of types of property, real estate, and community association managers:

Onsite property managers are responsible for the day-to-day operation of a single property, such as an apartment complex or a shopping center. To ensure that the property is well maintained, onsite managers routinely inspect the grounds, facilities, and equipment. They meet with current residents or tenants to handle requests for repairs or to resolve complaints. They also meet with prospective residents or tenants to show vacant units. In addition, onsite managers enforce the terms of the lease and an association’s governing rules. For example, they make sure that tenants pay their rent, follow restrictions on parking or pets, and follow the correct procedures when the lease is up. Other important duties of onsite managers include keeping accurate, up-to-date records of income and expenditures from property operations and submitting regular expense reports to the senior-level property manager or proprietor.

Real estate asset managers plan and direct the purchase, sale, and development of real estate properties on behalf of businesses and investors. They focus on long-term strategic financial planning, rather than on day-to-day operations of the property. In deciding to acquire property, real estate asset managers consider several factors, such as property value, zoning, and traffic volume. After a site is selected, they negotiate contracts to buy or lease the property. Real estate asset managers review their company’s real estate holdings periodically and identify properties that are no longer financially profitable. They then negotiate the sale of the properties or arrange for the end of leases.

Work Environment

Property, real estate, and community association managers held about 392,900 jobs in 2021. The largest employers of property, real estate, and community association managers were as follows:

Real estate 50%
Self-employed workers 37
Civic, social, professional, and similar organizations                   1

Most property, real estate, and community association managers work in an office setting. However, managers may spend much of their time away from their desks. Onsite managers, in particular, may spend a large part of their workday showing units, checking on the maintenance staff, or investigating problems reported by residents. Real estate asset managers may spend time away from home while traveling to company real estate holdings or searching for properties to buy.

Work Schedules

Most property, real estate, and community association managers work full time. Work schedules may vary; for example, they may need to respond to emergencies during off-duty hours or attend evening meetings with residents, property owners, or community association board members. Some managers are required to live onsite at the properties they manage.

Education and Training

Property, real estate, and community association managers typically need a high school diploma combined with several years of related work experience for entry-level positions. Some managers also must have a state-issued license.

Education

A high school diploma or equivalent is typically required for onsite property management positions. Employers may prefer to hire college graduates for positions in commercial management positions related to overseeing a property’s finances or contracts. Fields of degree for bachelor’s or master’s study may include business administration, accounting, finance, real estate, or public administration.

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

Property, real estate, and community association managers typically need several years of work experience in a related occupation. For example, real estate brokers and sales agents also show commercial properties to prospective tenants or buyers, and customer service representatives gain experience dealing with many types of people.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

Property, real estate, and community association managers may need a license issued by the state in which they work. In most states, property managers must have a property management license or real estate broker’s license. Real estate managers who buy or sell property must have a real estate license in the state in which they practice. In some states, community association managers also need a real estate license. Managers of public housing subsidized by the federal government must hold certifications.

Many states require property, real estate, and community association managers to obtain professional credentials or licensure. Requirements vary by state, but managers working in states without requirements may still obtain designations to show competence and professionalism. For example, BOMI International, the Community Associations Institute, the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), and the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) offer various designations, certifications, and professional development courses. Most states require recertification. For more information, contact your state licensing agency.

Training

Employers typically require managers to attend formal training programs available through professional and trade real estate associations. These programs may help to develop managerial skills and expand knowledge of specialized fields, such as insurance and risk management, tenant relations, and accounting and financial concepts. With related job experience, completing these programs and receiving a satisfactory score on a written exam may lead to certification or professional designation by the sponsoring association.

Advancement

Property, real estate, and community association managers who participate in professional training programs may prepare themselves for positions of increased responsibility. People may start as onsite managers of properties, such as apartment buildings, office complexes, or community associations. As they gain experience, they may advance to assistant property manager positions in which they handle a broad range of duties.

People also might begin as assistant managers, working closely with a property manager, and advance to property manager positions over time.

Property, real estate, and community association managers’ responsibilities increase as they manage more and larger properties. Property managers may oversee several properties at a time. Experienced managers may open their own property management firms.

Personality and Interests

Property, real estate, and community association managers typically have an interest in the Persuading and Organizing interest areas, according to the Holland Code framework. The Persuading interest area indicates a focus on influencing, motivating, and selling to other people. The Organizing interest area indicates a focus on working with information and processes to keep things arranged in orderly systems.

If you are not sure whether you have a Persuading or Organizing interest which might fit with a career as a property, real estate, and community association manager, you can take a career test to measure your interests.

Property, real estate, and community association managers should also possess the following specific qualities:

Customer-service skills. Property, real estate, and community association managers must provide excellent customer service to keep existing clients and expand their business with new ones.

Interpersonal skills. Because property, real estate, and community association managers interact with people every day, they must have excellent interpersonal skills.

Listening skills. Property, real estate, and community association managers must listen to and understand residents and property owners in order to meet their needs.   

Organizational skills. Property, real estate, and community association managers must be able to plan, coordinate, and direct multiple contractors at the same time, often for multiple properties.

Problem-solving skills. Property, real estate, and community association managers must be able to mediate disputes or legal issues between residents, homeowners, or board members.

Speaking skills. Property, real estate, and community association managers must understand leasing or rental contracts and must be able to clearly explain the materials and answer questions raised by a resident or group of board members.

Pay

The median annual wage for property, real estate, and community association managers was $59,230 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,740, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $124,680.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for property, real estate, and community association managers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Civic, social, professional, and similar organizations                 $58,860
Real estate 56,960

Most property, real estate, and community association managers work full time. Work schedules may vary; for example, they may need to respond to emergencies during off-duty hours or attend evening meetings with residents, property owners, or community association board members. Some managers are required to live onsite at the properties they manage.

Job Outlook

Employment of property, real estate, and community association managers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2021 to 2031, slower than the average for all occupations.

Despite limited employment growth, about 33,300 openings for property, real estate, and community association managers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire. 

Employment

Employment demand will be driven by the number people living in buildings that property management companies operate, such as apartment buildings, condominiums, cooperatives, planned communities, and senior housing.  

Growth in the single-family housing market may have a positive influence on demand, as some new housing developments will require property managers to oversee jointly owned common areas, such as pools, gyms, and business centers and to enforce homeowner association laws. However, the automation of some property management tasks, such as posting vacancies and assigning maintenance requests, may slow employment growth.

For More Information

For information about professional designation and certification programs for property, real estate, and community association managers, visit

BOMI International

Community Associations Institute

Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB)

Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM)

National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM)

 

 

FAQ

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The career information above is taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook. This excellent resource for occupational data is published by the U.S. Department of Labor every two years. Truity periodically updates our site with information from the BLS database.

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