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Not only does the financial market or status thereof affect how, where and with whom we conduct business, but certain demographical issues contribute to the development and future of certain industries and markets.

In particular the property management market has experienced a stable growth rate, as well as a predicted continual growth curve. A variety of contributing factors come into play when analyzing this projected growth, both from a real estate development and related perspective as well as from a demographical perspective.

The contributing factors of the demographic influence include both the Baby Boomer and the Generation Y or Millennial generations. From a real estate point of view, one has to look at the latest trends and developments that affect the property management industry, which include current civil planning initiatives such as the municipal planning and planned community concepts, as well as what is known as the Local Living movement.

Key Figures

Based upon the US Census data, the property management industry has experienced an accelerated growth rate, with over 140,000 active property management firms in the United States alone. These firms will have generated over $36 billion in revenues by the end of the decade. The factors mentioned above will contribute to the further growth and development of this industry for decades to come.

The Baby Boomers

Comprising of over 75 million people, in the United States alone, this generation is depicted as having been born between the years of 1946 and 1964, and represent a significant market with the amount of wealth that has been generated and amassed by this demographic. This generation is now preparing for retirement, and with the aid of modern technology, as well as state of the art medication, the life expectancy of this (and future) demographics is lengthened and enhanced by their active lifestyles.

As this demographic approaches retirement and therefore smaller homes, based upon this retirement phase, as well as the fact that they are now also within the empty nest phase, the demographic has sufficient and excess income to purchase additional or second homes. Research has shown that between 10 to 30 trillion dollars will be spent on asset acquisitions by this generation within the next twenty years or so. The fact that the baby boomers have this additional and excess cash plays an important role in the property management arena, as the individuals will require the effective management of the additional properties and vacation homes that are being and will be purchased.

Real Estate has proven itself to be a solid and reliable investment over many years, and although at times has experienced the cyclical nature of a market place, has continued to perform over time. This has proven to provide great returns on investment as well as income generation opportunities for investors. As people reach an older age their investment strategies and risk adversity changes to suit the real estate market, which is traditionally on the lower risk side, because of the displayed performance over the years. This is ideal for these millions of baby boomers who are now reducing their risk exposure and investing in the property market enabling the property managers to provide a value added service to this market.

Generation Y / Millenials

One the largest known generation demographics, will provide countless opportunities purely based on the size of this generation alone. There age definition is having been born between 1980 and 2000, and with this generation already in the housing market they stand to contribute significantly to the real estate market.

This generation does not view real estate the way the baby boomers had, with large properties in suburbia, but rather city dwelling, within walking distance of their amenities and social networks. An important statistic revealed from research showed that nearly 80% of respondents within this demographic planned to live in an urban environment, with easy and close access to both work and entertainment locales. The majority of this demographic is predicted to enter the housing market in 2012.

Primarily concerned with the use of technology, as well as the comfort displayed in terms of this usage, this demographic is seen as using the internet and social networking means to search for properties both from a rental aspect as well as from a purchase point of view.

Property management companies stand to gain from the surge that will be carried by this massive demographic and need to identify with and manage communication in selective and creative ways, so as to address their needs in the rental and house purchasing markets.

The Planned Community

The Home Owners Association is by no means a new concept; it has however risen phenomenally in popularity in the United States and many other countries. In the US alone the amount of these Home Owners Associations outstrips the amount of municipalities; this is largely due to the responsibility that the owners are taking in their environments. In addition to this the issue of self governance is arising within these associations, which enable the homeowners to reduce an amount of property taxes by taking the burden of managing certain issues within their common areas by themselves. The associations may be responsible for issues such as common area landscaping, trash collection and so forth; if they are in a position to do this on a more cost effective and efficient basis then the benefits far outweighs any potential issues that may arise with the management of such an association. There is an estimated 400,000 Home Owners Associations in the United States currently. The planned community requires professional property management, which in itself requires that these firms are available for advice and correct management of areas controlled by the associations and their residents.

Local Living Movement

This movement is basically a thought against the traditional suburban lifestyle, within an urban environment but on a greener and environmentally friendly manner. This is reflected in the choices of the younger generations, as mentioned of the Generation Y demographic. This centralized or core living allows the resident easy access to their work and play environments, without having to drive around too much.

The issues highlighted above reflect the growing need for property management services, based on both demographic and economic factors. The retirement of the baby boomers as well as the shift in their investment focus to more secure and possibly property based investments. The emergence of the Generation Y demographic echoes the sentiment of the living movement, which provides for core urban living.

In terms of what the baby boomers require of a property, is found to be appealing to the Generation Y populace too, with certain distinct differences, which is where the property manager will be in a unique position to secure the markets of both generations if done correctly. This represents a challenge to these property managers that will have to find a middle of the road solution, which can be adapted according to each demographic accordingly.