Pub. 5 2020 Issue 2

10 www.ctaahq.org Continued from page 9 sometimes they will not appreciate the “old school” way of doing business. Apartment rental demand will remain high Monitoring rental demand is an essen- tial trend in the property management industry. Over 80% of renters still believe that renting is more affordable than owning even though rents have increased in the recent past. There is a high demand for rental units, as seen by an 11% increase in apartment demand this year, and more demand projected for 2020. Affordable housing is a very significant issue for many people across the United States. Demand for rental units, as well as rising rental prices, are still increasing annually. New and different competition Real estate investment continues to gain momentum, especially with new and different players buying up rental properties and managing the properties themselves rather than using a property management company. Established property management companies need to monitor what is happening in the marketplace carefully. Many rental property owners will become competitors as they realize and understand that being a landlord is a business. They operate the busi- ness themselves, without the help from off-site managers, and this gives them an excellent segue to enter the prop- erty management business. The more entrepreneurial real estate investors will eventually start expanding by growing their portfolio, creating new and differ- ent competition. New marketing strategies There will be a sharper focus on digital marketing through the internet because of the market segment property managers must reach. An effective way to do this is to produce informative content regarding important topics for people in real estate. Creating a Frequently Asked Questions page or writing a blog that answers some of the widely asked questions by clients can generate traffic to the property man- agement company website. Google is the “Go-To” source for most people if they have a question about anything. Property management compa- nies that provide a blog, infographic, or video answering that question will show a potential customer that the company is knowledgeable about the subject matter of the question asked. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to property management companies for any content the company posts online. This kind of marketing is a popular trend in the prop- erty management industry. Relationships are critical and challeng- ing in all businesses and especially in property management. “The relation of landlord and tenant is not an ideal one, but any relations in a social order will endure if there is infused into them some of that spirit of human sympathy which qualifies life for immortality.” George William Russell, Irish writer, editor, poet, partner and Irish nationalist.