Skills
Property Manager Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in property managers, and how to build and show them.
Property Managers need technical skills such as leasing and marketing, fair housing compliance, and property management software, plus people skills like customer service and conflict resolution. They also use tools such as Property management software such as Yardi, AppFolio or RealPage and Online listing sites.
Technical (hard) skills
- Leasing and marketing
- Fair housing compliance
- Property management software
- Budgeting
- Vendor management
- Lease enforcement
People (soft) skills
- Customer service
- Conflict resolution
- Organization
- Leadership
Tools, equipment and technology
- Property management software such as Yardi, AppFolio or RealPage
- Online listing sites
- Spreadsheets
- Work order systems
- Resident portals
- Accounting tools
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how property managers put their skills to work:
- How to lead a prospective resident tour
- How to handle a late rent payment
- How to prepare a property budget
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Leasing and marketing” and “Fair housing compliance.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “customer service,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as Certified Apartment Manager (CAM) near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our property manager glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Property Manager training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.