Furthermore, Woschnak says the expanding national investor pool is set to provide future growth prospects for property managers. “According to the last ABS census, nearly 50% of all rental listings are managed by non-agents, which means there is an enormous pool of property owners out there who can still be targeted for property management services.”
The commercial environment
However, investors are not just confining their interests to residential property. In the case of Tracy Billings, commercial managements now contribute up to 25% of Raine & Horne Bondi Junction and Raine & Horne Coogee/Clovelly’s total rent roll of 2,600 properties. This shows that commercial real estate has become a preferred option for many, with some choosing to exclusively buy and sell commercial premises, and others using it to diversify their portfolio.
Interestingly, Jan Malmstrom notes that for this reason, commercial property management attracts different clientele and staff. “This is because certain investors only want to buy commercial property, and you’ll also find that commercial property managers are very different to residential property managers because they are by their nature more commercial in their approach to business and investment,” she says.
Furthermore, Malmstrom believes commercial property management offers people the chance to experience the vagaries of a career in real estate in some unusual locations and industries, from mines to casinos. “I know a number of residential property managers who have made the switch across to commercial property management because it provides a range of opportunities in different industries and because they find it more interesting and in some cases more lucrative.”
Industry standards could improve
It is Malmstrom’s firm belief that property management can take you anywhere, and as an example, she points to the fact that she is in the midst of finalising a Masters in Professional Studies (Property Management) from the University of Southern Queensland, a qualification she says was not possible up to five years ago. But despite the obvious progress at tertiary level, the question still remains whether the industry’s standards are high enough when it comes to entering the profession in the first place.
Tracy Billings, for one, believes the entry requirements for property management are too low. “It is easy now for someone to study for a few hours and get their certificate of registration, which allows them to lease and manage properties. The bar needs to be raised considerably, and this will in turn raise the profile of property management.”
Already, the issue of declining education standards has been in the sights of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, which has slammed the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) recently proposed national licensing system, a move they say will lower the entry level training requirements across the country. The REINSW has warned its state counterparts that the mooted changes will reduce the standard of learning from a Diploma to a two-day Certificate IV program.
This has brought the importance of training and education into the spotlight, with the brightest young property managers now seeking ongoing professional development in their roles. Blayney sees this through her partnership in Real Estate Career Developers (www.recd.com.au), which specialises in real estate recruitment in Sydney and Melbourne. “One of the key issues for recruits is to work in an environment where they are well remunerated, but also where they can receive training and development. As a result, some of our clients are now including industry events such as ARPM (Australasian Residential Property Management conference) in the remuneration packages they offer, plus a dollar value training package for their team members.”
The mounting push to provide a career path and further development for employees shows the lengths to which employers are prepared to go in order to land the best property managers. According to RENT’s Woschnak, this is because Australia’s property management sector will continue to grow long-term, with the combination of declining housing affordability and renting as a lifestyle choice driving up the number of tenants nationwide. “This will see the rental population in Australia grow from around 30% currently to around 40% over the long-term, taking us in line with what is happening in major cities around the world. We could end up following other major European countries like Germany which has over 50% of renters, and France which has over 40%.”
