How Does Your Association Compare with a National Survey?

A recent national survey conducted by the Community Association Institute (CAI) revealed that managers and boards are mostly optimistic about the communities they serve. The national economy and housing market are improving—however slowly—and that means things are looking up for most associations, which is welcome relief to many communities that weathered some difficult years.

While some associations continue to feel the pinch, almost 90% of community managers and board members say their association’s overall financial health is "excellent" or "good," with 10% saying "fair" and only about 2% indicating "poor" financial health.

The results are based on responses from almost 1,000 community managers and association board members who completed CAI's 2014 State of Community Associations Survey.*

Looking ahead, almost 55% of managers and board members see their association’s financial condition being “much” or "slightly" better in the next five years, while about 42% expect little change. Less than 4% anticipate a turn for the worse in the next five years.

The results of one major topic of interest is summarized below.  More survey results will be featured in a blog post next week.

Assessments and Delinquencies

Almost 40% of associations did not increase assessments during the most recent budgetary cycle. Of those that did raise assessments, 33% of respondents say assessments increased 1 to 3%, while 17% report a 4 to 6% hike, 7% a 7 to 10% increase and 4% an increase of 10% or more. About 13% of associations levied a special assessment during the previous 12 months.

Most managers and board members are confident their homeowners believe they are getting a good value for their assessment dollars, with 26% "overwhelmingly" satisfied, 60% "for the most part" satisfied and 10% "somewhat" satisfied. Almost 5% acknowledge their members are "not really" satisfied with the value they are getting for their assessments.

Understanding that rates of assessment delinquency often reflect the health of a local economy and housing market, respondents were asked the percentage of owners who are behind on their payments to the association. About 81% of respondents say their delinquency rate is 6% or less, with three quarters of those in the 0 to 3% range. About 15% peg the delinquency rate at 7 to 15%, with 4% saying it’s more than 15%.

Asked if their associations pursue delinquencies differently than before the mortgage foreclosure crisis and economic downturn, 44% say they are now "much" or "somewhat" more aggressive, with a near-even split between the two. Almost 55% say their collection policies and approaches have remained largely consistent, while less than 2% say their associations have become less aggressive.

With more than 33,000 members dedicated to building better communities, CAI works in partnership with 60 chapters to provide information, education and resources to community associations and the professionals who support them. CAI’s mission is to inspire professionalism, effective leadership and responsible citizenship—ideals reflected in communities that are preferred places to call home. Visit www.caionline.org. 

* Survey Sample

Almost 40% of survey respondents are association board members, 35% are on-site managers and 25% are portfolio managers. The latter were asked to provide answers based on their largest association client. About 50% of respondents work for or serve on homeowners association boards, while 45% are in condominium communities. The remainder represent mixed-use communities and cooperatives. Percentages may not always equal 100 due to rounding and a small number of "don’t know" responses.

The findings are based on information provided by community managers and association board members who chose to complete the online survey. Since respondents are a self-selected sample of CAI members, the results are not offered as a scientifically valid representation of all managers and board members, but rather to provide a snapshot of associations from the perspective of managers and board members. The survey will be repeated annually so the data can be tracked over time.