Independent Standards Board Reports Strong Hiring Outlook for 2012

The National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM) has reported that its most recent survey of community association managers has revealed that over one-third of management companies predict a rise in staffing during 2012; this statistic is up from one-quarter of companies during 2011. The data come from the NBC-CAM report The 2012 Employment Outlook for Community Association Managementwhich polls over 1500 industry professionals.

HOA management firms are expected to hire at a rate higher than small businesses, though 22 percent of U.S. small businesses plan to add jobs this year, according to a Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index Poll. Also, over-the-year, fewer management companies are expected to decrease jobs compared to small businesses. Only 2.8 percent of community management professionals indicated that they plan to decrease hiring compared to 8 percent of small businesses planning the same action. The emerging consensus is that the job market for professional community association managers looks very positive in 2012.

Robert Felix, chair of the NBC-CAM Board of Commissioners, said, “Community association managers are in demand. More than 62 million Americans live in residences governed by homeowners’ associations, condominium communities, residential cooperatives and other planned communities,” Felix continued. “And regardless of what happens in the economy, for many Americans, their home is their single largest financial investment, so it makes sense that HOA boards and homeowners would seek to hire trained, professional managers to handle their communities’ finances, insurance, governance, rules enforcement and maintenance.”