Community Association Management Professional Outlook

The continued growth in population and suburban development in Florida gives reason to be optimistic about job security in the community association management profession.  According to www.caionline.org Common Interest Communities continue to be growing at an ever increasing rate across the United States. In 2014 approximately sixty-seven million residents lived in almost 334,000 communities. Homeowners’ Associations account for 51-55% of the total, condominium communities for 42-45%, and cooperatives 3-4%. In the State of Florida alone there are 47,100 common interest communities or associations, with nearly 8 million residents living in such associations. Nearly 20% of the US population lives in community associations, while the value of homes in those community associations total to almost five trillion dollars.

Nearly seventy percent of community associations are managed by professional community association managers or management companies. There are approximately 8,000 community association management companies and up to 100,000 individuals employed by management companies.

In 1970 there were only 10,000 community associations. As the population continues to grow more people migrate to urban centers.  This, in part, has been facilitated by the ability to transport food and goods over longer distances. So long as this trend continues, people will need more and more options for affordable housing and property ownership, there will be continued growth in condominium living, and suburban developments surrounding urban centers will become homeowners and condominium associations.

The average salary of a community association manager is between $45,000 and $50,000 s a year, with the opportunity to make much more depending on skill, expertise, and level of competency. There are two distinctive types of managers: portfolio managers and on-site managers.

• Portfolio managers typically work for a management company and manage multiple communities. They are usually paid on a commission basis, meaning they earn a percentage of each contract that the management company has with the community associations which that manager oversees.

• On site managers are often employed directly by the association but may also work for a management firm.  On-site managers do not work from a satellite office like portfolio managers, hence the name “on-site”.  The types of associations managed by on-site managers tend to be larger and more upscale communities than what would typically be managed by a portfolio manager.

With the continued growth in population there is likely to be an increased need for community association managers, which means increased job security for those in the profession.  Florida’s population has been estimated to increase by as much as 6 million people by 2030.  If you are a Florida resident, then you have already seen with your own eyes the seemingly non-stop growth of urban centers and the sprawling out of cities into suburbs.  Nearly all of the communities being built today are governed by homeowners’ associations.  If you have been considering entering into the field of community association management, you may very well be on the right track.