When is it worth it to go in-house and vertically integrate?

In regards to a firm's strategy, why do some real estate firms outsource property management to a 3rd party versus building an in house property management/asset management team or hiring a leasing company versus hiring brokers in-house or even hiring a GC versus being the GC yourself? I know companies that do both? when would it make sense to delegate these tasks and think about it from an ROI perspective on the time spent to manage and lease versus outsourcing everything and paying slightly more but saving time?

would it make sense in NY Metro markets such as NYC, LI and JC with higher rents to lease yourself and save commission as well save the 6% property management fee once you scale and putting all these employees on payroll? pros/cons? thanks

8 Comments
 

I am but one data point, but here are two things I learned from working with a very large owner / operator in NYC:

  • both leasing and prop mgmt fees are much lower than they would be if those people were salaried (considering total cost of insurance, retirement plans, more difficult to fire unproductive employee vs firing outside contractor)

  • many large firms still do these in-house but in a slightly more obtuse way: they set up separate corporations for each responsibility you described, and bill themselves (their investors) the fees to carry out the work

“Doesn't really mean shit plebby boi. LMK when you're pulling thiccboi cheques.“ — @m_1
 

Property management is a business where profit margins are very thin at the entry level, and directly proportional to scale. In other words, you need to bring a ton of SF/units under the PM umbrella for the fee machine to start generating real profit. Think of it this way: in-house PM is still going to require management systems, a core staff (and their benefit costs), effective service contracts, etc. whether you have 5 units or 5,000. Many businesses are not interested in managing a business that requires that kind of scaling, as that in turn requires huge numbers of staff and overhead expenses.

 
Most Helpful

Modi aut non quo deserunt. Hic maxime non reiciendis sint. Delectus molestiae recusandae sint eum laudantium molestias et. Nostrum repellat ipsum dolor id est delectus corporis. Accusamus in vitae alias architecto optio non unde eveniet. At minima omnis ab sit maiores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”