The definitive annual study of single-family rental property owners in the United States. Research by Harris Poll. Be part of it.
SFR owners with 1-10 units are the lifeblood of the property management industry. This study is designed to understand their behaviors, motivations, and pain points at a level of granularity that provides actionable insights to the vendors and partners that serve them.
Who hires a PM, who self-manages, and what triggers the switch. Satisfaction drivers, NPS, and the "pain threshold" where DIY landlords convert to professional management.
Software usage by segment, AI comfort across 8 operational categories, generational divides in digital adoption, and where automation is replacing manual processes.
Who is buying, holding, repositioning, or exiting. Portfolio growth intent, financing behavior, and how trajectory shapes every downstream decision.
Maintenance cost thresholds, insurance attitudes, repair-vs-sell breakpoints, and the financial pressure points that drive churn from the industry.
Generational splits (Boomers, Gen X, Millennials), accidental vs. intentional landlords, local vs. remote ownership, and the behavioral gaps between them.
Vacancy duration trends, marketing channel effectiveness, screening practices, rent-setting confidence, and the operational metrics that define portfolio health.
We don't run our own survey. We hire one of the most recognized research firms in the world to do it right.
"Founded in 1956, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations, and social sentiments. Every year, we poll millions of people on the trends that are shaping our modern world."
500 U.S. adults who own at most 10 units of long-term rental property, fielded December 4-29, 2025. Weighted to reflect the broader landlord population.
Every question is sliced by demographics (age, income, region), ownership profile (units, PM usage, trajectory), and behavioral segments (AI trust, NPS, financial resilience).
PM Trends reaches property management professionals through multiple high-engagement channels with long shelf life.
400+PM company owners and executives at the premier industry conference, April 28-30. Hard copies distributed on site, on-stage presentations.
20,000+subscribers with 60-75% open rates. The most engaged PM newsletter audience in the industry. Dedicated send at launch plus ongoing references.
100+episodes across Peter's podcast (5 seasons) and Jordan's network. Title sponsors receive a dedicated interview episode reaching thousands of listeners.
Report published free online, indexed by search engines. 2025 edition continues generating organic traffic 12+ months after release. Permanent digital shelf life.
Findings distributed as branded graphics across LinkedIn, X, and industry forums. Individual data points become shareable social proof for months.
PM Trends data cited by trade publications, conference speakers, and vendor marketing. Your brand attached to the stat every time it's referenced.
Your brand gets permanently associated with the definitive industry benchmark in your category. That association compounds every time the data is cited.
Your company's name appears alongside one of the most recognized research brands in the world. That credibility doesn't exist in a blog post or whitepaper you publish yourself.
This isn't a conference booth that disappears Monday morning. The report lives online for 12+ months, generating organic discovery. Your brand is present every time someone finds it.
PM company owners and executives - the people who sign vendor contracts. Broker/Owner attendees manage an average of 500+ doors. This is where buying decisions happen.
Higher tiers receive custom co-branded PDFs and social graphics. Your sales team uses PM Trends data - branded to your company - as credibility anchors in their pipeline for 12 months.
Four tiers designed for different levels of investment and engagement. Each includes everything in the tiers below it.
An interview on Peter's podcast alone reaches 20,000+ subscribers at 60-75% open rates. Comparable trade publications charge $5-11K for a single digital placement. This package combines podcast, print, digital, and 12 months of branded derivative assets. The exposure-per-dollar is unmatched in PM media.
| Title Sponsor SOLD OUT |
Data Partner SOLD OUT |
Category $5K - limited slots |
Directory $1,250 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter's podcast interview | Dedicated episode | Mention | - | - |
| Jordan podcast/webinar | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Full-page ad in report | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Logo on report cover | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Named in press release title | Title credit | Named | Mentioned | Mentioned |
| Named data index/finding | If contributing data | ✓ | - | - |
| Dedicated report section | Full-page ad | Data overlay feature | Half-page feature | - |
| Custom co-branded PDF | Full category cut | One-pager | - | - |
| Branded social graphics | 5 | 3 | 1 | - |
| Expert commentary quote | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| Early access (1 week) | ✓ | ✓ | - | - |
| Logo in report | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Website link | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
A Data Partner isn't just a sponsor. It's a research collaboration that produces a finding neither your company nor our survey could generate alone.
5-10 anonymized, aggregate metrics from your platform. We provide a simple template. Takes less than 2 hours to pull. No PII, no raw records - just headline numbers.
Your platform metrics get analyzed alongside Harris Poll survey responses. The combination reveals insights neither dataset contains on its own - the perception-vs-reality gap.
A named index or data feature in the report, a co-branded PDF one-pager, social graphics, and a podcast mention. Your sales team uses these for 12 months.
| Category | Example Companies | Data We'd Ask For |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | PropertyMeld, Latchel | Avg repair cost by category, response times, seasonal patterns, work order volumes |
| Tenant Screening | TransUnion SmartMove, RentPrep, Naborly | Fraud rate trends, eviction correlation by credit tier, YoY denial rates |
| Insurance | Obie, Steadily, NREIG | Avg claim by property type, most common claim cause, % underinsured |
| Rent Guarantee | Obligo, TheGuarantors, Steady | Default rate by unit count, avg days to recovery, % claims paid in full |
| Leasing & Showings | ShowMojo, Zillow Rental Manager, Apartments.com | Days on market, application volume, vacancy velocity, showing-to-lease rates |
| Collections | National Credit Systems, Rent Recovery Service | Recovery rates by stage, time-to-collect, payment plan effectiveness |
Every Data Partner and Title Sponsor receives custom co-branded materials. Here's what two example partners would receive.
Survey data on owner cost perceptions overlaid with platform data on actual repair costs. Reveals a 35-40% perception gap. Includes generational comparison, repair category breakdown, and PM action items.
Survey vacancy trends overlaid with platform leasing funnel data. Shows self-showing properties lease faster. Includes segment comparison, remote owner spotlight, and leasing optimization takeaways.
A tight, defined process that respects your team's time.
PM Trends retains full editorial control over all report content. Sponsors and Data Partners do not review, approve, or influence findings or conclusions prior to publication. Data contributions enhance the research but do not dictate the narrative.
This is not a concession - it's the reason the report is worth reading and the reason your sponsorship is worth buying. If we compromised editorial independence, the report would lose the credibility that makes it valuable to PMs and to you.
Data Partners approve their own expert commentary quote (2-3 sentences). That is the only content subject to sponsor review.
Title Sponsor and Data Partner tiers are sold out. Category Sponsor has 3-4 slots remaining. Directory Sponsor is available at a reduced rate of $1,250.