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Over the past couple years the property management industry has undergone some major changes and this year has been no different. Property managers have had to adapt the way they conduct business and be open to new technologies in order to keep up with the times, in 2022, property managers have had to continue to evolve and grow to be successful.
Before the pandemic completely changed the way property managers do business, when a tenant wanted to view a property they had to go out and see it in person. They had to figure out a time that worked for them and the property manager, or pick the best time for them from a list of options given by the property manager.
The PMs then had to dedicate full days to showing people a property over and over again. Although some property managers saw that this was not the best way to do things and began offering virtual tours, it wasn't until the pandemic hit and forced property managers to get creative that the virtual tour really became common practice.
Virtual tours allow property managers to show a property to an unlimited number of people with very limited time and effort on their part. Rather than setting times with each person and taking up a whole day to show a property, PMs can now fit a whole day of showings into just one virtual tour.
This obviously has huge time savings for property managers and allows them to use that time elsewhere. Since this trend does provide a lot of value for property managers, it’s safe to say that it will continue through 2022 and beyond and property managers will continue to find new and innovative ways to showcase their properties.
Online rent collection is another example of a trend that was on the rise before the pandemic, and then skyrocketed in popularity during 2020. Although this popularity stems from social distancing mandates, it also has some great practical benefits to it as well. Which is why we believe this is a trend that will stick around in the future.
Having tenants pay their rent online saves property managers tons of time since they don't have to go to each and every one of their properties and collect physical rent payments. Instead, they can just accept online payment and have the payments come in while they attend to other things.
Online payments also make tracking rent payments much easier since each payment leaves a digital footprint which can be looked at later on. Cheques getting damaged or lost in transit is also no longer an issue using this method as there is no need for physical cheques.
It is also much more convenient for tenants, since they can quickly pay their rent from their phone rather than having to buy cheques, fill them out, and send them to you.
Making the payment process easier for tenants also helps to increase the likelihood of tenants paying their rent on time, which is a huge bonus for property managers since late payments can have serious impacts on their bottom line.
As Gen Z begins to enter the housing market, their values will begin to impact the market and the way property managers operate. There are many ways that Gen Z and Millennials are the same when it comes to their housing preferences. For example, because of the hot housing market right now, both Gen Z and Millennials prefer to rent rather than buy, meaning as Gen Z enters the market, the demand for rentals will increase even more than it already has.
There are some differences as well, with Gen Z putting much more of an emphasis on technology integrations and modern amenities and appliances. Things like smart thermostats, high speed internet, and smart appliances are all very important to them. Property managers will find that adding these features makes their property more desirable to this younger demographic.
There are also some benefits for property managers to add these technology upgrades to their properties beyond the increase in demand. Smart appliances and thermostats tend to save quite a bit of energy, and depending on the terms of your lease, this either makes the utility payment lower for the tenant and thus more desirable, or it helps you save some money and lower your bottom line.
Location used to be the most important factor to take into consideration when purchasing or renting a property. However, with more and more people moving to remote online work, the importance of location is beginning to fade.
People no longer need to live in the heart of a city just because they work there, and can instead move out anywhere and work from home. This has caused many people to get out of the city and move to surrounding areas.
So what does this mean for property managers? It means that they will progressively have to put less and less of a premium on properties in prime locations. On the flip side, they will no longer have to put as much of a discount onto properties that are in a previously less desirable location.
Property management trends are no different from trends in other industries. They shift, sometimes rapidly, and can be gone at any moment. Tools like VendorPM can help to ensure you always have access to the vendors you need to stay on top of industry trends!
Try out VendorPM for free as an individual property manager at vendorpm.com!
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