A Career in Property Management
An education and subsequent career in property management allows you to manage and oversee property, while handling everything from routine maintenance to remodeling and additions. With a property management degree, you acquire knowledge and background in property laws, brokerage, and land use. Property management degree graduates work as property managers, community association managers, or lodging managers. A successful property manager should possess strong interpersonal, business, and communication skills and a solid understanding of current real estate markets and conditions as well as property law.
Property Management Career Paths
In addition to property manager, there are a number of career paths available to the property management program graduates, including:
- Commercial Property Administration
- Residential Property Administration
- Real Estate Administration
- Rental Real Estate Management
- Retail Real Estate Management.
Education for a Career in Property Management
For a career as a property manager, the most common education requirement is a bachelor's or master's degree in finance: accounting or business administration, public administration, or real estate. Common coursework includes: property analysis, tenant relations, commercial property management, leases, marketing, economics of property management and apartment management operations and procedures.
Property Management Salary and Career Forecast
Many property managers begin their careers as onsite managers of apartment buildings, office complexes, or community associations, or worked in property management firms or community association management companies. Forty-six percent of all property managers are self-employed. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that job opportunities in property management and real estate will increase by 8 percent in the decade ending in 2018. In 2008, the median annual salary for salaried property, real estate, and community association managers was $46,130.