Best Property Management Companies in San Diego (2026)

This guide is for owners of rental homes, condos and small apartment buildings in San Diego who are choosing a property manager, or thinking about switching. It compares seven local firms on the things you can check before you call: where the office is, what kinds of property each one handles, what each one publishes about its fees, and how it is licensed with the California Department of Real Estate (DRE).

Every fact about another company below comes from that company's own website or the DRE public license lookup, checked in September 2026. We left out star ratings and review counts on purpose, including our own. Fees change, so treat any rate here as a starting point and ask for a written quote.

How we chose this list

McKee Properties wrote this list and put itself first. We are a San Diego property manager, so read our entry with that in mind. For the other six, we looked for firms that:

• Have a San Diego office or a published San Diego service area
• Manage residential rentals and say which property types they take on
• Describe their services on their own website
• Hold an active DRE license we could match to the company
• State how long they have operated, where they say so

We also looked for variety. The list includes a coastal specialist, an apartment specialist, a flat-fee firm, a mid-city firm and a firm that also takes on small commercial property, so you can compare different approaches. Where a firm's claimed "since" year is older than its current license, we say what the firm claims and what the license shows.

At a glance

1. McKee Properties

McKee Properties was established in San Diego in 1982, incorporated in California in 1985 as Russell B. McKee, Inc., and has been headquartered in Coronado since 1989 (1001 B Avenue, Suite 203, Coronado, CA 92118; 619-435-7780). It holds California DRE corporate license #00907967, and its broker is Brendan McKee (DRE #01882732). The company handles residential management, leasing and sales, and runs a commercial division, McKee Commercial, for small to mid-sized retail, office and apartment properties. Maintenance goes through its own company, Certified Property Maintenance (CSLB license #754790), and owners and residents use portals on AppFolio. The team is twelve full-time staff. More on the company is on our about page.

Best for: owners who want management, leasing and maintenance under one roof, with a Coronado office and a commercial division if the portfolio grows.

Worth knowing: McKee does not publish its fees, so ask for a written quote. It is a small team of twelve, so ask who your day-to-day contact will be.

2. Cairncross Property Management

Cairncross Property Management (opens in a new tab) works from 4490 Fanuel St. #204, San Diego, CA 92109, and focuses on residential rentals across coastal San Diego, naming La Jolla, Point Loma and Pacific Beach. The site says it has been serving local property owners since 1978; the current corporation, Cairncross Property Management Corp. (DRE #01926213), was licensed in 2013, so the 1978 date reflects the longer history behind the business. It lists its fees on its website as of September 2026: tenant placement at half of one month's rent, Full Service at 8% of monthly rent and Premium at 9% of monthly rent, with no startup fees on either managed plan.

Best for: coastal owners who want a long-running local firm with a published rate card and no startup fee.

Worth knowing: its site centers on coastal neighborhoods, so if you own inland or in the South Bay, ask whether your address is a fit.

3. Cal-Prop Management

Cal-Prop Management (opens in a new tab) is based at 2635 Camino del Rio S #201 in Mission Valley and manages apartments, single-family homes, individual condos and multifamily buildings under 100 units across the county. The site says it has served San Diego since 1987; its DRE corporate license (Cal-Prop Management Inc, #01172817) was issued in 1994 according to DRE's secondary records. The site describes itself as the "#8 Largest Residential Property Management Company in California" in its segment. It does not publish fees.

Best for: owners of small and mid-size apartment buildings, which is the niche it describes.

Worth knowing: buildings of 100 or more units are outside its stated focus. DRE also lists a construction trade name (Cal-Prop Construction) on the license, so ask how in-house repair work is priced and billed.

4. Good Life Property Management

Good Life Property Management (opens in a new tab) has a San Diego office at 5252 Balboa Ave. Suite 704 (92117), plus a Riverside office; DRE lists Irvine and Escondido branches too. Its license, Good Life Property Management Inc. (DRE #01929564), was issued in 2013. It manages single-family homes, condos, 2-4 unit properties and multifamily buildings of 5-15 units. It lists its fees on its website as of September 2026: an 8% monthly management fee, 7% for properties renting over $6,000 a month, 6% for 5-15 unit multifamily, leasing at 25% of one month's rent, a $150 annual inspection fee and a $195 lease renewal fee.

Best for: owners who want the full fee schedule in writing before the first call, including a lower rate for higher-rent homes.

Worth knowing: its published multifamily tier stops at 15 units, so owners of larger buildings should ask whether it takes them on.

5. Mercer Properties

Mercer Properties (opens in a new tab) is based at 3938 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92116. It manages single-family homes, condos, apartment buildings and manufactured-home communities, and names Kensington, Talmadge, Mission Hills, North Park, South Park, Bankers Hill, Little Italy, Downtown and La Jolla as areas it covers. The license is held by Mercer Investments Inc, doing business as Mercer Properties (DRE #01359752), and is active. It does not publish fees.

Best for: owners in the mid-city neighborhoods it names, and owners of manufactured-home communities, which few local firms list.

Worth knowing: there is no rate card online, and the site does not give a clear founding year, so ask for a written fee quote and how long the current team has managed properties like yours.

6. Realty Management Group

Realty Management Group (opens in a new tab) is at 4025 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 300, in Mission Valley, and manages single-family homes, condos, townhomes and small multifamily across San Diego County. The site says it has served San Diego since 2005; the current corporation (Realty Management Group, DRE #02075336) was licensed in 2018. It lists a flat fee on its website as of September 2026: $199 a month, with no leasing fees, no renewal fees and no maintenance markups.

Best for: owners of higher-rent homes, where a flat monthly fee can cost less than a percentage of rent.

Worth knowing: on a lower-rent unit the flat fee works the other way. $199 is more than 8% of any rent below about $2,490 a month, so run the numbers for your property.

7. Harland Property Management

Harland Property Management (opens in a new tab) is based at 7660 Fay Ave Suite N in La Jolla. It manages single-family homes, condos, townhomes and multifamily properties from duplexes to large complexes, and also takes on retail, office and industrial property. The license belongs to Kayvon & Associates Inc, doing business as Harland Property Management (DRE #01864591); the trade name has been active at DRE since 2010. The site cites more than 18 years of experience. It quotes a general market range for management fees but does not publish its own rate.

Best for: owners with both residential and small commercial property who would rather use one firm for both.

Worth knowing: there is no Harland rate card online, so get a written quote rather than relying on the market range on its site.

What to ask any San Diego property manager

1. What is the monthly management fee, and what other fees apply (leasing, renewal, inspection, setup, vacancy)? Ask for all of them in writing.
2. How do you market a vacant unit, and how long did your last few lease-ups take?
3. Who does maintenance, and do you add a markup to vendor or in-house invoices?
4. What repair amount can you approve without calling me first?
5. What do monthly owner statements look like, and when are funds sent?
6. How do you handle the City of San Diego's tenant protection ordinance for city addresses, and California's Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482; Civil Code sections 1946.2 and 1947.12) for rent increases and terminations?
7. Who will be my day-to-day contact, and how many doors does that person manage?
8. What is your DRE license number, and can I look it up myself?

Rules for rent increases and ending a tenancy depend on the property, its location and the date, as of September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check a San Diego property manager's license?

Use the California Department of Real Estate's public license lookup and search the company's license number or legal name. Check that the status is "licensed", that the name matches the company you are hiring (or a trade name listed on that license), and whether the main office on file matches the address on the website.

Do all San Diego property managers publish their fees?

No. Of the seven firms on this list, Cairncross, Good Life and Realty Management Group list their fees on their websites as of September 2026. McKee, Cal-Prop, Mercer and Harland do not, so you will need a written quote to compare them.

Is a flat monthly fee better than a percentage of rent?

It depends on the rent. A flat fee costs the same on a low-rent unit as on a high-rent one, so it tends to favor higher rents, while a percentage scales with the rent. Compare the total yearly cost, including leasing and renewal fees, at your actual rent.

Why does a company's "since" year differ from its license date?

Many firms trace their history to a founder or an earlier business, then later form a new corporation with a new DRE license. Neither date is wrong, but the license date tells you how long the current legal entity has been licensed, which is worth knowing when you sign a contract with it.

Does McKee manage outside Coronado?

Yes. McKee is headquartered in Coronado and manages rentals across San Diego. See the San Diego property management page for the areas we cover.

If you would like a quote for your San Diego rental, start with our San Diego property management page or contact us.