While doing some industry and competitive research over the past few days, we came across some great statistics that we thought our property managers should know about.  More specifically, we believe that similar to other industries that have been revitalized through technology, the property management industry is marching toward a time of rapid change that will call for an increased use of technology to save time and cut costs, find the best renters, and ultimately remain competitive.

Reason #1: There are over 53 million renters under 30 years of age in the U.S.

Surprisingly, 71% of renters in the U.S. are under age 30 according to recent National Multi Housing Council statistics.  This Generation Y demographic has grown up with technology and having instant access to information at their fingertips.  They are technology savvy and prefer the ease of use of the internet to interact with friends, make purchases, do banking, and find places to live.  That said, we believe that it is very important for property managers to have a great web presence, especially since this large group of renters has come to expect businesses to be online.  The age of finding apartments through “For Rent” signs and in classified ads is quickly passing.

Reason #2:  Cloud computing has significantly lowered property management software costs

Just what is cloud computing and what does it mean to property management?  Over the past several years, the cloud computing buzzword has become mainstream and has been featured in commercials by Microsoft, Apple, and others.  Simply, “in the cloud” means that software is hosted through the internet.  It slightly differs from a traditional website by allowing applications to be used and paid for dynamically, much like a utility such as electricity where you pay for as only as much or as little as you use.   This has significantly lowered costs for companies such as E-Rental Tools who provide software online because it has removed the need to purchase, manage, and maintain web servers since they can now be bought as a service on demand.  This trickles down to the customer to ultimately benefit everyone and make technology more accessible than before.

Of course, there are also many other great benefits that technology can bring to your business which we will be writing about in future posts.  Where do you think technology is headed within the property management industry?