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The head of one of the largest real estate offices in the country believes property management is stuck in its most challenging period for 40 years.
Andrew Bell, CEO at Ray White Surfers Paradise, was responding to concerns among property managers about wages, discounted management fees and being overworked.
He said there's a real challenge in the industry because the cost of operations continues to rise.
"It’s the most difficult time I’ve ever seen in property management, in 40 odd years – to make it attractive and make a profit in it, and to make people want to do it,” Mr Bell told Residential Property Manager.
He said there's a lot of pressure on fees, increased compliance and legislative issues to deal with, and property managers are managing less properties than they used to.
"So you got this weird combination where you've got less income but paying more administritive costs,” said Mr Bell.
"You’ve fewer properties that a property manager can manage, so it's real juggling act. And then of course you’ve got people complaining about the standard of property management," he added.
Mr Bell said that's why you see people buying and amalgamating large rent rolls, trying to get economy of scale.
He admitted that it's an industry that does come with stresses, particularly if you let your property management division get away from you.
Mr Bell beleives that if you've got an untidy rent roll, where people let rent arrears go, and don't do routine inspections, "it can become a nightmare, that’s when you come under enormous pressure".
