Careers in the Growing Apartment Industry {Interview}

There are 38 million residents renting apartments in America today, and this number is expected to grow. The country could add as many as seven million additional renter households this decade. All this growth means more traffic to businesses in close proximity to apartments—more lattes from the coffee shops, more food from the supermarkets, and more customers at the dry cleaners.

Americans are beginning to place greater value on the concepts of walkability, urban revival, and work-life balance. This opens more people up to housing options beyond the traditional single-family house, which helps explain why almost 1.1 million households chose apartment living over the past four years.

Apartment communities offer their residents numerous advantages, including maintenance-free living, 24-hour fitness centers, concierge services such as package delivery and valet trash pick-up, and business centers. Apartment communities also offer an easier work-life balance—they are typically located closer to job centers and leisure activities.

The growth in apartment living translates into growth in the job industry—there are more than 12 million jobs in construction, operations, leasing, management, maintenance, and skilled trades. That means there is a huge demand for qualified people—in fact, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates 11,000 new property management jobs every year.

Those individuals who find successful careers in the apartment industry are from all walks of life. They have a broad range of experience – from military veterans who are searching for a new type of job to recent college graduates ready to take on their first position in the workplace.

Join me in a recent interview with Stephanie Puryear Helling, President of the National Apartment Association Education Institute and Senior Director, Operations and Real Estate Strategic Services at Greystar–the nation’s largest residential property management firm, and Jeremy Lawson, Reputation Manager at Fogelman Management Group—a full service property management and investment company as they tell Michigan Mom Living readers about the changes the apartment industry is bringing to communities and explain how it can mean a new career path for many who never considered this industry.

Check out the full interview here:  https://youtu.be/kf9X0xKTYD8

For more information, go to www.rpmcareers.org

Stephanie Puryear Helling

Greystar

Senior Director – Operations, Real Estate Strategic Services

President

National Apartment Association Education Institute

Stephanie has 25 years of industry experience in leasing, marketing, resident retention, customer service, management and leadership. She has 16 years of diversified experience with the training and development of associates in such markets as Austin, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, New Orleans, Phoenix, Atlanta, Los Angeles, DC, and Metro Denver. Stephanie has worked in various onsite, regional and national positions, and currently serves as Senior Director – Operations for Real Estate Strategic Services, serving on the Greystar Advantage Steering Committee, the Property Management Operations Committee, and various cross-functional teams within her organization and celebrated her 18th anniversary with Greystar in April of 2017.

In her spare time, Stephanie volunteers at the local and national level, and serves on the National Apartment Association Education Institute Board of Directors as an officer (NAAEI President, second term), the NAA Board of Directors, and is past chair of the NAAEI Apartment Careers Committee, the NAAEI Curriculum Development Committee, the NAA Lease Advisory Committee and NAAEI Vice President for two terms.

Stephanie resides in Austin, Texas with her sons, Jackson, Griffin and Landon.

Jeremy Lawson, Reputation Manager for Fogelman Management

Assists 75+ communities and the organization itself manage and enhance their reputations. With 12+ years of industry experience, his involvement includes speaking on social media, reputation management, and instructing designation programs. Jeremy is involved both locally and national, serving on the NAAEI Board of Directors, Apartment Careers Month Committee as well as NAA NEXTgen Committee & Marketing Committee. He is also a Lyceum candidate and NALP Paragon Award recipient.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyalawson/

[1] Source: NMHC calculations based on household projections from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the premise that 50 percent of all new households are renter-occupied

[1] U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, Tenure by units in structure; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010

American Community Survey, Tenure by units in structure

[1] http://www.weareapartments.org/

[2] Source: NMHC calculations based on household projections from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the premise that 50 percent of all new households are renter-occupied

[3] U.S. Census Bureau, 2006 American Community Survey, Tenure by units in structure; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010

American Community Survey, Tenure by units in structure

Interview is courtesy: National Apartment Association Education Institute