Apartment jobs listings jumped up 18 percent in February over January, according to the apartment jobs report from the National Apartment Association Education Institute.
The increase in the number of apartment job listings in February certainly involves some seasonality factors as 2018 hiring plans took firmer hold, according to Paula Munger, Director, Industry Research and Analysis, for the National Apartment Association (NAA).
Denver, Phoenix and Seattle maintained spots in the top three metro areas for apartment jobs as a percent of the entire real estate sector, signaling increasingly competitive job markets where qualified candidates have plenty of choices, she said.
Construction manager positions took the longest to fill, at 44 days, as the construction sector overall has experienced a long-term labor shortage. By contrast, owners and operators looking for administrative positions can typically fill these jobs in less than a month.
Leasing consultant apartment jobs pay mean of $39,235
This month’s snapshot focused on the leasing consultant position, with job postings across the country showing a mean salary of $39,235.
In addition to leasing experience, these positions require strong communication and writing skills, as well as customer service skills.
Experience in property management was also a strongly desired. Markets with the highest concentration of demand for leasing consultants are unsurprisingly in areas which have had a spate of new apartment construction: Detroit, Raleigh and Washington, DC. Although all types of apartment jobs will be needed for new communities, these markets are currently experiencing a shortage of qualified leasing professionals, Munger reported.
Jobs in property management, maintenance and leasing will continue to grow and “we’re not seeing that change any time soon,” Munger said last month. ”Construction has leveled off a bit and I’m sure you’ve heard that starts are down. But I see that as more of a normalizing thing than anything. More and more people are making a choice to live in apartments,” she said in an interview with Rental Housing Journal.
“Our education institute is a credentialing body for the apartment industry. They hear often that one of the biggest problems keeping our industry leaders up at night is the difficulty in finding talent, attracting talent and retaining talent,” Munger said last month at the time the first report was released. “Labor-market issues are happening in a lot of industries, certainly with the tight labor market we have.”
For the monthly on-going reports, the NAA decided to partner with Burning Glass Technologies. “They have a labor-job posting database that is proprietary,” she said, and they can “layer on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). We looked at that and thought we could do something that is really going to help the industry and help benchmark job titles and trends as we go forward.”
About the National Apartment Association Education Institute
The NAA Education Institute provides broad-based education, training and recruitment programs that attract, nurture and retain high-quality professionals and develop tomorrow’s Residential Property Management industry leaders.
About The National Apartment Association
The National Apartment Association is the leading voice for the apartment housing industry. As a trusted partner, a valued connector and a powerful advocate, the NAA is committed to serving 160 affiliates, more than 75,000 members and the 9.25 million apartment units operate globally.
