Next week, Look Up Strata will hold the most important strata management discussion this year. It's a webinar, A Fair Future for Strata: Navigating the Crossroads of Strata Management Fees.
Why is this the most important strata event this year? For the first time in strata history, average lot prices are up, but profits are down. Most strata business owners are working harder than they ever have for less than they ever have.
Without sustainable profits, strata management businesses are not viable. Strata owners will lose valuable advice. We need a fair margin for a manageable workload.
Debates on a solution to this problem have focused on insurance commissions and disclosure. Recently, ‘industry-regulated pricing’ has been added to the mix. But these are problems, not solutions. They are symptoms, not the cure.
Changing the disclosure of commissions and related party transactions will not affect strata owners' perceptions of value.
Industry-regulated pricing is even worse. If ever there was a way to commoditise services and focus on price alone, it is industry-regulated pricing. A form of self-imposed industry pricing (aka price matching) is the primary reason we have arrived at this point.
The fair future for strata, the path we must travel for the sake of both strata managers and owners, is not disclosure or regulation. We need a big switch. It must be from declining profits and service to sustainable profits and professionalism.
Join the discussion and learn how we make this happen: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7917312929371/WN_sonBBQKtRA2OxqzeR09QFw.
Michael Teys advises strata management businesses on improving profitability through professionalisation and streamlined operating systems.
He has more than 30 years’ experience as a strata lawyer and academic and has owned 11 strata management agencies throughout Australia. He has a Master of Philosophy (Built Environment) and Bachelor of Laws. He lectures and writes widely about strata management issues in Australia and internationally.
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