Nov
03
IREM Special Report: Leaders’ Insights on Managing Change
ByThe talent hunt, technology and preparing for leaner times top the agenda.
Michael Lanning, left, IREM’s 2017 president, and Christopher Mellen, the organization’s 2016 leader.San Diego—The role of the property manager in a time of rapid change is a pressing issue for the profession, and the Institute of Real Estate Management’s recent fall conference highlighted efforts to tackle those concerns. During the event in San Diego late last month, IREM’s top elected leaders offered perspectives on the emerging and perennial challenges facing the real estate management profession.
Although most observers believe that the next economic contraction is likely several years away, a possible change in fortunes for the economy are at the top of the list for Christopher Mellen, IREM’s 2016 president and the vice president of Braintree, Mass.-based Simon Cos. Mellen pointed out that property managers’ place on the front lines of the industry is particularly apparent when hard times hit. “I think that we need to be cognizant of that, and prepare ourselves and our properties,” he said. “Real estate managers are in even more demand when the economy starts going down.”…
