Imagine this: Your arrears rate drops from 7% to under 1% in just two months.
You’re at your child’s Saturday footy game when a tenant reports a leaking hot water system, but instead of missing the goal to make urgent calls, you watch your junior score while the system handles everything.
On Monday morning, instead of facing a mountain of admin, you start your day with a prioritised list of the handful of clients who actually need your expertise.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s happening right now in property management businesses across Australia.
I’ve spent over two decades in the technology space, and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that we often make promises in tech about making life easier and better.
Sometimes we deliver, but too often these promises get lost in buzzwords and hype.
Today, I want to cut through that noise and talk about how AI is genuinely transforming property management not in some distant future, but right now.
Before moving into property management, I spent 23 years building and scaling Simpro, a software company that revolutionised how trade service businesses operate by consolidating multiple systems into one platform.
We expanded to 38 countries because we solved a fundamental problem: tradespeople were using five or six different bits of software and working crazy hours with razor-thin margins.
Sound familiar? That’s exactly what I’m seeing in property management today.
What strikes me most about this industry is how much untapped potential exists for AI to solve these same fragmented workflow problems.
The challenges AI was built to solve
Our industry is facing some serious headwinds: we’re looking to hit a construction target of 1.2 million homes by 2029 as part of the National Housing Accord to address Australia’s housing crisis and if current trends stand, about 35% of those will be investment properties—that’s roughly 400,000 new properties that will need managing.
At the same time, research shows that more than a quarter of property managers are expected to leave the industry within the next five years, with compliance requirements that keep growing, and there seems to be a bit of a race to the bottom on management fees.
The way we’ve always done things just isn’t going to work anymore. That’s not an opinion—that’s just maths.
Beyond ChatGPT: Practical AI Tools Already Working for PMs
When I think about AI in property management, I’m not thinking about some far-off robot property manager. I’m talking about practical applications that are working today:
1. Less arrears; fewer tears
We’ve all sent those template emails for arrears—the three-day notice, the five-day notice, the seven-day notice. It’s mechanical, and tenants know it.
But what if your system could analyse a tenant’s communication style and arrears history, then craft personalised messages that reflect how they best respond?
What if it could determine whether an email, SMS or phone call would get the best response from a specific tenant?
We’ve implemented exactly this approach with clients and seen arrears rates drop from 6-7% (sometimes as high as 14-15%) down to under 1% within just 2-3 months.
That’s not incremental improvement—it’s transformational.
2. AI driven landlord retention
Every property manager has had that gut feeling about a landlord who might be thinking of leaving, but by the time you notice something’s wrong, it’s often too late to save the relationship.
Here’s where AI becomes your secret weapon. The system monitors those 45 different touchpoints with landlords that you’re already managing and transforms them into actionable insights.
No more guesswork about which landlords need attention.
Imagine starting your day and seeing a simple dashboard highlighting exactly who needs your personal touch today.
The system has already done the heavy lifting—identifying that Mrs Jones has checked her maintenance request five times without commenting, or that Mr Smith’s inspection is overdue, and he’s been unusually active on the portal.
Instead of spending your morning buried in admin, you can make one targeted call that shows your landlord you’re proactive and attentive.
The technology doesn’t replace your relationship skills—it enhances them by ensuring you’re using your time where it matters most.
3. Maintenance ‘Without the Migraine’
Remember that burst pipe that threatened to ruin your dinner plans last Friday night?
Or those hours spent coordinating three different tradies for quotes on a simple repair? What if I told you those days could be behind you?
Picture this: You’re at the kid’s Saturday footy game when a tenant reports a leaking hot water system.
Instead of excusing yourself to make urgent calls, the system has already classified it as an urgent but not emergency repair, sent notifications to your pre-approved plumbers, and confirmed an appointment within the two-hour window required by legislation.
The tenant gets an automatic update, the landlord receives a notification with the estimated cost (which falls under their pre-approved limit), and you get to celebrate your junior scoring a goal.
For true emergencies, like a burst pipe at 9 pm on a Friday, our “Uber trade” feature kicks in.
The system automatically offers the job to several trusted tradies simultaneously, with the first to respond getting the job.
You’ll still get notified, but instead of panic-calling plumbers while a tenant’s bathroom floods, you’ll simply see confirmation that someone is already on their way.
Monday morning’s report will show you exactly what happened, who attended, what they did, and what it cost—all without you having to sacrifice your weekend.
Elevating Property Managers, Not Replacing Them
I think this technology is about putting the person into the workflow at the point that makes sense, as opposed to just having them do tasks “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
It’s about eliminating all that busy work that doesn’t add value.
If you’re not adding value to the conversation with the landlord, or you’re not adding value to the tenancy, or it’s not good for the customer or the business, why are you doing it?
The Exciting Part Is Just Beginning
Here’s what excites me most about this technology: it’s not tomorrow’s promise—it’s today’s reality.
Many of you might be surprised at just how far AI has already come in solving the exact problems you’re facing every day.
Imagine walking into the office on Monday morning and instead of facing that mountain of admin, you’re greeted with a prioritised list of the conversations that actually need your expertise.
No more wading through trust account issues or chasing arrears—just meaningful work that puts your real skills front and centre.
For those who’ve been in property management for years, this isn’t about learning some complicated new system.
It’s actually about getting back to why you started in this business—building relationships, solving real problems, and yes, maybe even getting home in time for dinner more often.
The agencies already embracing these tools are seeing their property managers become happier and more effective, their landlords more satisfied, and their businesses more profitable.
They’re not just managing more doors—they’re managing better.
So what would your property management business look like if you could focus on what you do best and let the tech handle the rest? That’s the question worth asking today.
