TransUnion Survey Shows Property Managers Doing Better Than Last Year

Boston—According to a recent TransUnion survey, both large and small property managers are doing better than they did a year ago and are more easily attracting residents while increasing rental prices.

The survey, which included 1,248 property managers across the United States, was comprised of 1,107 small (managing 200 or fewer properties) and 141 large (managing 201 or more units) property managers.

Of the respondents, 48 percent said that rental prices on the majority of their units have increased from the previous year. Approximately 44 percent said rental prices remained the same.

Property managers are also now finding it easier to locate prospective residents. Nearly 73 percent of respondents said it was not difficult to find residents, as opposed to 67 percent last year.

According to the respondents, vacancy rates for their properties are between 0 percent and 5 percent increased from 81 percent in 2011 to 83 percent in 2012. Large property managers saw this number increase from 60 percent in 2011 to 64 percent in 2012. More than 70 percent of small property managers have zero vacancy, up from 66 percent in 2011.

Despite a healthy market, nearly 60 percent of respondents said they are concerned or very concerned about finding profitable and reliable residents. Additionally, 53 percent of the property managers said they have had a renter “skip out” of the unit with unpaid rent or damages, and 18 percent of those surveyed said a resident had skipped out in the last year.