Property management services are in the spotlight in 2026—and demand is climbing. Why? New regulations have reshaped the rental landscape in many ways, making compliance more complicated for owners. At the same time, a wave of Accidental Landlords is entering the market, and these owners need expert guidance to protect their investments.
But expertise alone isn’t enough anymore: The customer experience you deliver has become the ultimate differentiator. In this post, we’ll unpack these trends, showing how property managers can build trust through their expertise and turn market shifts into growth opportunities.
Want the full picture of what this year holds, as well as expert perspectives and practical tips to put these trends to work in your business? Download your free copy of our 2026 Property Management Industry Report now.
Trend #1: Regulations on the Rise: Turning Compliance into a Competitive Edge
With the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 came an increase in regulation of the rental market. As a result, more rental owners are leaning on property managers’ expertise to stay in compliance with local laws. Back in 2021, just 21% of rental owners said that they’d hired a property manager for their regulatory expertise. Fast forward to 2025, and that number has risen to 33%—a significant increase.
This mirrors what property managers told us in this year’s survey: As new tenant protections pass, rental owners see running their rental properties on their own as a bigger risk, pushing them to reach out for professionals’ help. As one respondent described, their company’s biggest opportunity this year is “providing rental owners [with] educational content explaining new legislation to be seen as the knowledgeable manager in the area [as increased] legislation in Washington State may turn self-managers into clients.”
This emphasizes the importance of keeping your team up-to-date on local regulations, and highlighting this knowledge in conversations with prospective clients.
Turn Insight into Action: Educate on Regulations
Create short guides on new laws and share updates via email to position your team as local compliance experts.
Trend #2: Sales Slowdown: Accidental Landlords Are On the Rise
The housing market hit a wall in 2025: Sellers outnumbered buyers by a record 34%, according to an analysis by Redfin. Plus, high property prices, steep mortgage rates, and economic uncertainty have kept many buyers on the sidelines, with homes that would have sold in days a few years ago now sitting on the market for months.
When sellers can’t get the price they want, some decide to turn their homes into rentals. That’s where Accidental Landlords enter the picture: homeowners who never planned to rent out their properties at the outset, but now find themselves in exactly that position. In our survey, 22% of rental owners fit this description, while another 16% started out as Accidental Landlords, but now consider themselves investors.
The good news is, Accidental Landlords are the group that’s most likely to hire a property manager. So, many business owners see these conditions as an ideal time to pick up new clients. As one survey respondent put it: “In our market, homes are not selling as they have in the past. We expect to bring on many of these properties as management clients. We have built and continue to build on strong relationships with brokers and agents in our real estate market.”
Turn Insight into Action:
- Engage Accidental Landlords: Reach out to homeowners struggling to sell and offer rental income estimates and a starter management package tailored to first-time landlords.
- Build Referral Pipelines: Formalize partnerships with brokers and provide co-branded materials and incentives for referring clients who pivot from selling to renting.
Trend #3: Service Sells: Why Owners Choose PMCs Based on Experience
More than any other factor, rental owners hire based on the customer service experience that your company delivers, 74% of rental owners said in our latest survey. So, what does this look like in practice? Owners want clear communication, easy-to-understand reporting, and tech that makes everything simple and seamless—from payments to maintenance. But they also want the human touch: responsiveness, transparency, and teamwork.
As one rental owner put it: “Always offer an online portal with communication, payment, and maintenance/task management. Always communicate clearly with tenants, owners, and vendors. Follow up in a timely manner to all requests. Use clean and clear information on your invoicing and financial reports so everyone knows what is being charged and why.”
Another respondent said: “Be willing to collaborate with owners. Listen to their suggestions and requests, but push back when you have additional information. Focus on the long run and don’t be short sighted. Don’t overextend your portfolio beyond what you can truly handle, and consider hiring people when you do.”
Turn Insight into Action:
- Showcase Service Excellence: Highlight response times, satisfaction scores, and portal features in pitches to potential clients, and include testimonials from satisfied owners.
- Launch Add-On Subscriptions: Bundle services like pest control and seasonal maintenance into monthly plans, and use them to boost retention and recurring revenue.
In 2026, rental owners are looking for property managers who can simplify compliance, protect their profitability, and deliver peace of mind. But in today’s competitive marketplace, the experience you create for owners—transparent, tech-enabled, and personalized—has become the ultimate differentiator.
Want to see the full data behind these trends and learn how leading property management companies are winning new business in the current market? Download our 2026 State of the Property Management Industry Report.
