Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #185

Why you keep getting offers to sell your PM company

Property management business owners: you ever get an email like this?

Because I’ve been getting just about one per business day.

Every business day of every week.

For the last three years.

Why is seemingly everyone trying to buy property management companies? And if you’re buying, why is it so gosh darn hard to find one to buy? I can explain this with two simple pie charts:

Based on a recent survey of 100+ property management business owners inside Crane, 35% of them are actively buying, but only 8% of them are interested in selling anytime soon. That’s a 4-to-1 ratio imbalance between supply and demand, not even accounting for outside buyers (those trying to buy their first PM company). I’m not claiming that Crane members are perfectly representative of the entire industry, but I think this illustrates the point.

So that explains why you get so many emails offering to buy your company—there are simply way more buyers than sellers. Therefore, buyers are desperate and resort to cold outbound (rather than just being satisfied with companies that are publicly listed for sale, like those further down in this newsletter).

However, that doesn’t fully explain what’s going on here. WHY are there more people interested in buying PM companies than selling them? I can think of a few reasons:

• These are just good businesses that produce steady cashflow and increasingly good margins with contractual recurring revenue, a great cash conversion cycle, and close to zero capital investment required.

• PM companies are somewhat recession-proof or even counter-cyclical (we actually do better when the for-sale housing market is struggling).

• Once you have a good PM business going with a proven system, it appears simple or downright easy to just bolt on additional units through acquisition. Tempting!

• Valuations are down from the 2022-2023 peak (buyers are offering less, so sellers are less interested in selling). The lower price entices even more buyers.

• PM is a “boots on the ground” business that is likely to be somewhat AI-proof.

• Realtors flee to PM when the market slows.

• There is still VC and PE capital flowing into our space, despite the graveyard out back.

So what should you be doing with all those inbound emails and voicemails, anyway? My recommendation is to save them in a folder somewhere, maybe even take a few calls here and there. Keep your toe in the water so you know the temperature, even if you’re not ready to jump in yet.

-Peter

Stepping in as CEO at a 6,000+ Door PM Company

Dan French nearly went bankrupt during the Great Financial Crisis - sleeping in vacant units and ruining his credit for a decade. He went on to scale a multifamily platform from 2,500 to 18,000 doors, and now he's CEO of Northpoint, one of the largest third-party SFR managers in the country.

We dug into the "melting iceberg" problem killing PM roll-ups, why he's building separate divisions for SFR, BTR, and small multifamily, and his take on the “Innovator's Dilemma” - why SFR operators are better positioned to move upmarket than multifamily firms are to come down. If you're thinking about M&A or what professionalization actually looks like in our space, this one’s worth a listen:

Available on Apple Podcasts & Spotify

Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• Residential PM company in Hillsborough County, NH (asking $850k, ~$600k annual revenue, ~230 units)

• Here’s an established PM business in Grand County, CO (asking $1.6M, ~$1.2M annual revenue, ~600 units under management)

• STR property management company in Texas (asking $2.2M, ~80 units under management)

• 1,000-door HOA + residential PM franchise in Coral Springs, FL (asking $300k)

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Industry News & Events

• Crane applications are NOW OPEN. They close in 12 days and won’t reopen for 6 months. Our launch event, Access Granted, was yesterday with 350 live attendees on zoom. Catch the replay if you missed it.

• Just 23 days left until NARPM’s Broker/Owner conference kicks off in New Orleans. Register here. I’ve got the closing keynote with Jordan Muela, introducing the PM Trends 2026 report in collaboration with Harris Poll.

• RealPage adjusts after DOJ settlement. RealPage is making changes to its pricing software and practices following its settlement with the DOJ, as scrutiny around rent-setting tools continues.

• Employee accused of stealing $1M from property company. A Fargo-based property company employee is accused of embezzling over $1 million, underscoring the importance of internal controls and oversight.

Closing Thought

A few quick things before you go…

• Last week’s issue went to 21,143 readers (59.7% opened, 3.5% clicked)

• The most popular link was about the 2026 Crane Property Management Industry Report (175 clicks)

• Property managers: Your professional trade association is NARPM. You need to join if you’re not already a member.

• Did someone forward you this email? Subscribe here.

Software I’m using to scale my 700+ door property management company:

Note: These are affiliate links, but I’ve been recommending all these companies long before any financial arrangements came into place.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.