Community Associations make for better homeowner satisfaction

U.S. citizens residing in community associations are largely pleased with their communities, stating that they are firmly satisfied with the board members running their associations, as well as their supporting community managers.

Over 7 out of 10 people who live in community associations state that they are content with their experience, as shown in a survey done by Zogby International, a major public polling company. Nearly 40% of those living in community associations state they are "very pleased", and just 10% convey any degree of dissatisfaction. Another 20% took neither position.

Roughly 54 million Americans reside in about 274 thousand homeowner associations, condo communities, co-ops and other planned communities.

A breakdown of what community association residents report:
 88% think their governing boards make a strong effort to fulfill community members' interests.
 90% state that they are on pleasant terms with board members, and only 4% suggest relations issues.
 86% state that they are on very good terms with immediate neighbors, only 5% indicating that they have problems. Among the negative responses, the most frequently-stated issues had to do with pets, overall lifestyle, noise and parking.
 78% think that the rules set by their associations "protect and enhance" the value of their property, and only 1% think that these rules hurt value instead.
 88% of respondents who have had to deal directly with professional community managers indicate that they had positive experiences.

The research was paid for by the Foundation for Community Association Research, a not-for-profit group set up by Community Associations Institute (CAI) in 1975.

This survey, which was derived from phone interviews made during August of 2005, has an error margin of +/- 3.5%. A survey summary can be found at www.caionline.org/about/survey.cfm.