Property managers need to prioritise their wellbeing amidst the tough conditions the industry is facing.
That was the main message more than 150 property managers heard at Ray White Ready SET Go on the Gold Coast this week.
Real Estate Institute of Queensland Chief Executive Officer, Antonia Mercorella, said property management has been a difficult profession to navigate in recent years and new rental reforms were only making things more challenging.
“Stage 2 is a bit misleading as this is actually the fifth round of legislative reform in the rental space in as many years,” Ms Mercorella said.
“We are still not quite at the end of this journey though, with more legislative amendments to come that have been earmarked in this bill.”
Ms Mercorella spoke about the raft of legislative changes that came into effect and their impact on property managers, tenants and lessors, which cover a range of areas.
“One key area of the changes involves limiting rent increases to every 12 months,” she said.
“This reform is a dramatic departure from established tenancy laws in Queensland as it attaches the rent increase to the property, not the tenancy agreement.
“It’s really important as a property management community that despite how we feel about laws, they are still laws – we need to support each other.
“Be respectful and disclose the rent if a new property manager reaches out.”
Ms Mercorella also encouraged property mangers to maintain a high level of professionalism in the industry, despite the headwinds.
“This is a really important change which is a step in the right direction,” she said.
“The REIQ will be consulting with the government in the coming weeks.”
Ms Mercorella encouraged all property management business leaders to think long and hard about the fees they’re charging for their services as risk has gone up significantly.
NLP practitioner, Alana Bess urged property managers to prioritise their well-being and avoid burnout.
“One of the biggest challenges in property management is mental health and wellness,” Ms Bess said.
“A recent survey of property managers conducted by MRI has shown that this is one of the areas in which property managers receive the least amount of training.”
She encouraged the property managers to reconsider what they were taught about how to handle stress.
“We don’t have any techniques or tools to deal with the difficulties of the job,” she said.
“We are seeing unprecedented levels of stress in the world.
“The property management industry is no different.
“Typically 70 per cent of people have at least one feature of burnout.”
She said property management had become a stressful profession dealing with the raft of regulatory changes, and managing sometimes difficult relationships with tenants and owners.
“The good news is it’s now spoken about more often and more attention is being focused in this space,” she said.
“The pandemic affected and depleted our stress reserves.”
Ms Bess said there was a difference between acute stress and chronic stress and how your window of tolerance is your optimal state of being.
“You can widen your window of tolerance and expand your capacity to manage stress,” she said.
“How do we take this knowledge and apply it in a way that not only benefits us individually but strengthens our teams, enhances our client relationships, and ultimately elevates our entire approach to property management?”
She said techniques including meditation, mindful breathing, visualisation and creating focus zones can help.
