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Under-appreciated property managers with rapidly-expanding responsibilities are leaving the profession for less stressful roles.
Residential Property Manager spoke to two recruitment agents who both highlighted a trend in property managers becoming disillusioned with the industry.
Real Positions owner Paulette Steele said she had recently spoken to a 25-year veteran who was over full-time property management and wanted a part-time or casual role.
“I think it is just the pressure, the expanding responsibilities and the lack of appreciation for what you do,” Ms Steele said.
“It is a high-pressure job being a property manager, and it is so litigious nowadays.”
Ms Steele said she also recently spoke with another property manager who had been burned out by 15 years of property management.
“Once again, she’s over the full-on property manager role and has found herself an administrative office role in a real estate office,” she said.
Trish Payne, general manager of Real Estate Career Developers Melbourne, said she hasn’t seen a large portion of PMs leaving the industry, but “there is definitely a movement that way”.
“I think people get into their late 20s and early 30s and they generally tend to make a lifestyle choice,” Ms Payne said.
“Generally it is, do they move onto department management-type roles or staff management roles, which there is not an abundance of.
“They want to move away from the daily management of a portfolio because it does wear them down, there is no doubt about it. It is why the industry has such a high turnover.”
Ms Payne said property management had evolved from being aligned to sales to now having a greater focus on attention to detail and legal requirements.
“It is a very stressful role now, it has a lot of responsibilities and it is undervalued,” she said.
“That is the problem, not just from a management perspective or a real estate director’s perspective, but in the general public, property management is a very devalued role.”
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