How Top Multifamily Property Managers Keep Expenses Down In 2023

We spend a lot of time talking to our multifamily property manager partners. And what we’re hearing as 2023 rolls out is consistent: Gone are the days of property managers simply assuming a 3% to 4% annual expense growth rate.

This sentiment isn’t just anecdotal. According to RealPage, year-over-year apartment operating expenses more than doubled in 2022 to 7.6%, compared to the pre-pandemic rate.

Among the biggest factors in rising expenses: the high cost of hiring and retaining staff.

Multifamily property management businesses are spending more and more on their top asset—their people. At the same time, apartment management staff are typically seeing wage growth above the national norms.

The most common concern we hear from apartment property managers? How to fight for top talent while trying to keep costs in check. The most successful multifamily property managers are those who are tapping into global talent as a key resource.

Remote workforce hiring can reduce staffing costs by as much as 60%. So it’s no surprise that data shows the most profitable property management companies globally outsource more than half of their entire workforce.

Meanwhile, many “traditional” property managers find themselves pulling from other hospitality sectors to find potential leasing agents. These agents have no direct multifamily industry experience, and end up requiring tons of training, or delivering sub-par performance.

Everyone puts emphasis on incentivizing their best people to stay. So how do you determine which in-house staff to incentivize, and where to take advantage of remote staffing?

Back-office work can be burnout work. Outsourcing is the way to go for those support functions. These include:

• Bookkeeping
• Insurance database keeping
• Guest card optimization
• Utility/vendor payables
• Resident A/R delinquency follow ups

Ready to learn more about how you can reduce burnout and improve performance while significantly cutting operating costs?