Pamela Monroe, the organization president, said in a statementrecently that high-credentialed managers usually have theexperience needed to inject value back into distressed propertiesby protecting income streams, controlling expenses, positioning forbest return-on-investment and best-price achievement. "Simplystated, they know how to salvage, maintain, reshape and remarketwhat is expected to be an enormous pool of troubled real estateassets."

Industry leaders agree. Rick Chichester, US president ofColliers International, tells GlobeSt.com that good managers areneeded more than ever, because, in this economic downturn, theindustry will be turning more toward basic fundamentals to evaluateproperties. "Owners are going to have to rely on propertymanagement more than ever, to really focus on managing propertythat will benefit the tenants," he says.

The organization has been moving global in the past few years.Since 2004, the international rate of the organization's CommercialProperty Manager credential, has comprised more than 20% of thegroup's CPM approvals. Robert Toothaker, chairman of the RealEstate Management Corp. and CB Richard Ellis South Bend, tellsGlobeSt.com that the movement has really helped the organizationgrow to more than 18,000 individual members and 500 corporatemembers. Toothaker was the 2007 IREM president. "The internationalmarket has seen our training, education and certification, and hasrecognized that they need top quality people," he says.