Like many strata managers, Luke started his strata career as a Council of Owners member when he purchased his own strata property. A desire to do more and contribute to his strata community led him to discover what course options were available to formally take on a role as Strata Manager.
“At the time there was very little available other than a module within the Property Management course at TAFE,” Luke said.
“With higher expectations on strata owners and Council Members, more education options have become available and I foresee an increase in the professionalisation of Strata Management, alongside greater education options.”
Luke brings over 25 years’ experience to his role, and in partnership with the leadership team has embraced change and technology across the organisation, whilst maintaining the elements of human connection and a highly personalised experience.
During Luke’s tenure he has witnessed enormous change and evolution in the industry.
“The two areas I’ve seen change the most are communication and technology”, Luke said. “A decade ago, Strata Managers were only attending to emails a couple of hours per week – now, it is the bulk of their role and takes up a huge amount of time.”
Luke also sees portfolio structure as being critical to a Strata Manager’s ability to maintain a high level of service to clients.
“Alongside the increasing communication demands, WA’s strata management fees have remained quite low compared to the east coast, and therefore strata managers have large portfolios to ensure profitability can be maintained,” Luke said.
These changing demands coupled with the industry reform have resulted in Strata Managers needing to be far more skilled across a number of critical areas, such as financial proficiency, project management and legal understanding to name a few.
“Strata managers now need to be all-rounders,” Luke adds. “A decade or two ago they were akin to administration managers – now the stakes are far higher, and education and strong relationships with subject matter experts is critical.”
In reflection of this, REIWA have thrown their considerable industry weight behind the reform and have chosen to recognise strata for the first time this year, with their Excellence Award.
REIWA Chief Executive Officer Cath Hart recently mentioned that strata is an important component of the WA real estate industry and the Institute
is delighted to be able to formally recognise its importance at the Awards for Excellence.
“Our strata network has over 140 members who do vital community work to ensure strata properties are well managed and run smoothly,” Ms. Hart said.
“We anticipate this segment of the real estate profession will continue to grow and thrive in WA as urban infill leads to more apartment living, so it is important we recognise and celebrate those leading the way in this specialty.”
Realmark Strata is the proud recipient of this inaugural award. For Luke and all the Team at Realmark, this award recognised the Team’s willingness to adapt and embrace the transitional nature of Strata Management that continues to emerge and evolve.
So what’s next, after such a dynamic period? Looking to the future, Luke foresees two major changes coming to the industry over the next 5 years.
“I predict the utilisation of technology will continue to increase, for managers to streamline processes and communication, and increase service levels.”
“We’re currently bringing in talent from the east coast to ensure we can continue to provide outstanding service for our clients, which gives us the opportunity to utilise their experience in legislative change to prepare for likely future change in WA,” Luke said.