A letter from IREM President Renee Savage, CPM®, CCIM

Renee Savage, CPM^®, CCIM

As real estate managers, we’re called to identify new ways of optimizing every aspect of the properties we manage. This is a constant process of adapting to market forces, the property’s needs, the preferences of our tenants and residents, and changes in society and the world around us. In this issue of JPM, we explore operational efficiency, including the latest tools available to real estate managers keeping up with this challenge.

Technology solutions can help, but those same tools can quickly become a sunk cost rather than a valuable investment without effective team cooperation. In the feature “Team effort”, Alexandra Goldthwaite, CPM^®, MPM^®, RMP^®, shares how you can ensure that you and your team maximize productivity by utilizing the right tools to solve your particular challenges.

One way new technology can aid in improving the efficiency of our operations is by empowering our tenants and residents to live more efficiently, creating opportunities for new sources of revenue in the process. In “Charging ahead,” Jay W. Jones and Fred Prassas, MBA, CPM^®, from the University of Wisconsin-Stout give an overview of how electric vehicle (EV) charging stations meet the increasing demand for eco-friendly living and create those revenue opportunities. The authors explore what managers should take into account when considering adding EV technology to their properties.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen the world of real estate management advance rapidly. IREM has also been evolving to support our members with successful, efficient property management practices. In fact, IREM has been changing with the times since it was founded in 1933. We’re celebrating IREM’s 90th anniversary this year, and you can read more about just how far we’ve come in that time and how much more we can still accomplish together.

Another exciting example of new technology that supports efficient operations is drones. New applications of these remote-controlled aerial assistants are always in development. In the Technology column, you can read about which ones stand out among the top uses of cutting-edge drone technology for property managers.

When it comes to advancing the profession of real estate management, one of our key goals at IREM is shifting the narrative from our profession being a career by chance to a career by choice. And there’s perhaps no better way to spread that message than through the young professionals entering our field every year. You can learn about the newly revamped Next Gen Advisory Council and how its members are working on expanding IREM’s reach and opening doors to diverse pools of new talent.

While Dubai is home to some of the most iconic buildings in the world, real estate management remains an emerging profession in the emirate. This represents yet another opportunity to exemplify IREM’s core value of knowledge sharing. Read about how IREM and several of our local members are elevating professional property management in the UAE to new heights.

Most employees have gone back to the workplace since the COVID-19 pandemic cleared out office spaces across the globe in 2020. But returning to the office doesn’t necessarily mean returning to pre-pandemic office life. Read about this constantly evolving reality and what the office hybrid worker of today is looking for in—and from—their workplace.

As IREM members, we support each other in our common goal of advancing the real estate management profession and meeting our owners’ objectives through operational efficiency. By sharing our knowledge, resources, and experience, we can help each other with the constant challenges that make real estate management such an exciting profession.