The majority (83%) of property managers enjoy working at their place of employment, and 74% feel secure in their role, according to the 2024 The Voice of the Property Manager report from the National Apartment Association and sponsored by MRI Software.
Surveying nearly 1,000 industry professionals, the analysis reflects the voices of over 850 property managers and regional managers across the country—88% of which identify as female. The largest age group are those 35 to 44 at 32%, followed by 45 to 54 at 29%.
Almost half of respondents work for owners/operators, while 88% note their companies own or manage conventional multifamily properties, with just over half managing fewer than 5,000 units and roughly 1 in 5 operating more than 30,000 units.
The survey revealed that 60% feel they have the training needed to do their jobs and 65% have been in their current role for at least five years. Additionally, 74% say they have all necessary tools and resources needed to fulfill their role effectively; 86% praise their coworkers; 72% appreciate the flexibility they were given; and 82% express pride in working for their current organization.
The highest level of dissatisfaction is related to salary (25%), technology usage by their team (17%), and support from management (17%). Yet, 59% are satisfied with their salaries, and 69% are content with both the level of technology used by their team and the support provided by management.
Forty-seven percent of property managers indicate their workload is “on the busy side,” and 24% say their workload is “up and down.” Only 15% say they feel overburdened by their workload. Over half (55%) say they have a good work-life balance—yet, 34% feel they lack a work-life balance; 68% say their work has a mild to moderate level of negative impact on their mental health; and 11% say it has a significant impact on their mental health.
These concerns could be contributed largely to the top challenges property face, which are largely unchanged from the 2022 report. The survey finds that dealing with aggressive and abusive residents and tenants (22%); the inability to switch off after hours (16.3%); maintaining property staffing levels (14.3%); and managing the workload (13%) as the top challenges.
Property managers also note working with residents who are at risk of eviction (6.9%); keeping up to date with legislation (6.2%); dealing with fraud (4.7%); and training new hires (4.7%) as other challenges.
Despite the mental impacts and top challenges, 74% see themselves in the industry three years from now, and 60% desire to grow in the industry.
