Leasing Associate Jobs in Portland, OR (NOW HIRING)

About Meritus Property Group
Meritus is comprised of a committed team of commercial and multi-family management professionals that take great pride in being stewards of the built environment, operating assets efficiently, and providing an outstanding tenant experience.
Seasoned Lease-Up Leasing Consultant
Meritus Property Group | Lease-Up Community
Meritus Property Group is seeking a seasoned, high-performing Lease-Up Leasing Consultant to help launch and lease a new multifamily community with energy, polish, discipline, and urgency.
This role is for a true closer.
We are looking for someone who is motivated by results, driven by leasing goals, confident in follow-up, polished in presentation, and hungry to win. The ideal candidate has prior lease-up experience, knows how to create urgency with prospects, understands that every lead matters, and takes personal ownership of leasing velocity.
This is not a passive leasing role. This is not an "answer the phone and wait for traffic" position. This is a proactive, sales-forward, relationship-driven leasing role for someone who wants to be part of building momentum from day one.
The right candidate will be professional, sharp, organized, competitive, money-motivated, and excited by the opportunity to lease a new community from the ground up.
At Meritus, our work is guided by our vision pillars:

• Centered on People

• Committed to Care

• Connected by Community

The Lease-Up Leasing Consultant will bring these pillars to life through every tour, every follow-up, every resident interaction, and every signed lease.
Position Summary
The Lease-Up Leasing Consultant is responsible for generating traffic, converting leads, conducting exceptional tours, following up relentlessly, processing applications, supporting move-ins, and helping the community achieve aggressive lease-up goals.
This person must be highly comfortable in a fast-paced lease-up environment and understand that success requires urgency, consistency, confidence, organization, and strong sales discipline.
The ideal candidate has experience with Yardi, understands multifamily leasing systems and workflows, and knows how to use technology, data, and daily follow-up to drive results.
This role requires weekend availability. Weekends are a critical leasing window and are required as part of the regular schedule.
What Makes This Role Exciting
This is an opportunity to be part of the launch of a brand-new community and directly impact its success.
The Lease-Up Leasing Consultant will help introduce the property to the market, build excitement with prospects, create a strong first impression, and convert interest into signed leases. This role is ideal for someone who loves sales, thrives under goals, enjoys beautiful new construction, and wants the opportunity to earn through performance.
The right person will not simply show apartments. They will sell the lifestyle, create urgency, build trust, overcome objections, and close leases.
Key Responsibilities
Leasing, Sales & Conversion

• Lease apartments with urgency, professionalism, and a strong closing mindset.

• Conduct compelling, polished, and personalized tours that create emotional connection and urgency.

• Understand each prospect's needs, lifestyle, timing, budget, objections, and decision drivers.

• Confidently present floor plans, pricing, amenities, finishes, availability, application requirements, specials, and community features.

• Follow up consistently and creatively with every lead until the prospect leases, selects another community, or is no longer active.

• Maintain strong closing ratios by converting qualified traffic into applications and signed leases.

• Create urgency without pressure by clearly communicating availability, pricing changes, limited-time specials, and lease-up momentum.

• Proactively ask for the lease and confidently guide prospects through the application process.

• Track and manage every lead with accuracy, speed, and full documentation.

• Maintain strong knowledge of current availability, pricing, specials, exposure, move-in dates, and upcoming unit deliveries.

Proactive Outreach & Lead Generation

• Actively generate traffic through outreach marketing, local partnerships, employer outreach, neighborhood engagement, follow-up campaigns, and resident referral opportunities.

• Support the execution of the lease-up marketing strategy with creativity and consistency.

• Identify opportunities to increase visibility and drive qualified traffic to the property.

• Conduct regular outreach to local employers, businesses, relocation contacts, neighborhood partners, and community organizations.

• Assist with open houses, broker events, resident events, prospect events, and lease-up promotional efforts.

• Monitor lead sources and share feedback on which channels are producing the best traffic and conversions.

• Stay alert to competitive market conditions, including nearby pricing, concessions, availability, and leasing trends.

Yardi, CRM & Leasing Systems

• Use Yardi accurately and confidently for guest cards, applications, availability, pricing, leasing workflows, resident accounts, move-ins, and reporting.

• Maintain clean, detailed, and timely guest card notes.

• Ensure all follow-up activity, appointment details, application updates, and prospect communications are properly documented.

• Process applications accurately and efficiently according to company policy.

• Monitor application status, required documentation, approvals, deposits, move-in funds, and lease completion.

• Support online leasing, digital communication, resident portals, and other technology platforms used during lease-up.

• Protect data integrity by ensuring all prospect, applicant, and resident information is entered correctly and updated in real time.

Lease-Up Execution

• Support the community through all phases of lease-up, including pre-leasing, opening, first move-ins, phased deliveries, and stabilization.

• Maintain daily awareness of leasing goals, traffic goals, application goals, occupancy targets, and weekly performance expectations.

• Participate in daily or weekly leasing huddles, strategy discussions, and performance reviews.

• Communicate prospect feedback, objections, pricing concerns, market insights, and leasing barriers to the Property Manager.

• Assist with model presentation, tour paths, signage, curb appeal, amenity readiness, and leasing office presentation.

• Partner with maintenance and management to ensure vacant homes, models, and amenities are tour-ready.

• Help create a smooth and organized move-in experience for new residents.

• Maintain the energy, pace, and professionalism required to successfully lease a new community.

Resident & Prospect Experience

• Deliver a polished, welcoming, and memorable experience from the first interaction through move-in.

• Represent the community and Meritus brand with professionalism, warmth, confidence, and care.

• Build trust with prospects by listening carefully, communicating clearly, and following through.

• Respond to calls, emails, texts, online inquiries, and walk-ins with urgency and accuracy.

• Create a sense of excitement around the community and help prospects envision living there.

• Support resident satisfaction through strong communication, positive service, and a solutions-oriented approach.

• Assist with resident events, move-in communication, renewal support, and community engagement as needed.

Market Knowledge & Competitive Awareness

• Maintain strong knowledge of the surrounding market, competitor communities, pricing, concessions, amenities, and availability.

• Conduct market surveys and competitor shops as assigned.

• Understand how to position the community against competitors and confidently explain its value.

• Share market feedback with the Property Manager to support pricing, marketing, and leasing strategy.

• Stay current on neighborhood amenities, local employers, schools, transportation, shopping, dining, and lifestyle drivers that matter to prospective residents.

Required Qualifications

• Prior multifamily leasing experience required.

• Prior lease-up experience strongly preferred.

• Yardi experience required.

• Proven ability to meet or exceed leasing goals.

• Strong sales ability with a confident closing style.

• Highly proactive approach to leasing, follow-up, outreach, and prospect engagement.

• Strong understanding of guest card management, application processing, leasing workflows, and move-in coordination.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Polished, professional, and comfortable working with a wide range of prospects and residents.

• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage a high volume of leads.

• Ability to work with urgency while maintaining accuracy and professionalism.

• Comfortable with technology, CRM systems, online leasing, digital communication, and reporting.

• Knowledge of Fair Housing requirements and professional leasing practices.

• Ability to work weekends as part of the regular schedule.

Preferred Qualifications

• Successful experience leasing a new construction community.

• Experience working in a high-traffic, high-volume lease-up environment.

• Experience with outreach marketing and local relationship building.

• Experience leasing Class A or luxury multifamily communities.

• Experience with revenue management, concession strategy, or market rent positioning.

• Bilingual abilities are a plus.

• Familiarity with Vancouver, Portland Metro, or surrounding submarkets is a plus.

Core Competencies
Closing Mentality
The ideal candidate is confident asking for the lease, comfortable overcoming objections, and motivated by performance.
Proactive Leasing Energy
This person does not wait for traffic. They create traffic, follow up with purpose, and stay focused on converting every qualified opportunity.
Professional Polish
This role requires someone who presents themselves and the community with confidence, warmth, sophistication, and credibility.
Competitive Drive
The right candidate wants to win. They are motivated by goals, performance, leasing bonuses, and being part of a successful lease-up.
Follow-Up Discipline
Lease-up success requires relentless, organized, and thoughtful follow-up. This person understands that the fortune is in the follow-up.
Resident-Centered Service
This person knows that leasing is not just sales. It is the beginning of the resident experience and the foundation of community reputation.
Meritus Vision in Action
Centered on People
We put people at the center of every interaction. The Lease-Up Leasing Consultant will create a prospect and resident experience that feels personal, professional, and welcoming.
Committed to Care
We show care through preparation, responsiveness, accuracy, and follow-through. This person will be expected to communicate clearly, follow up consistently, and handle every detail with pride.
Connected by Community
We help create communities where people feel connected to their home, their neighbors, and the surrounding neighborhood. This role will help establish that connection from the first tour.
Schedule Requirements
This is a full-time position. Weekend availability is required.
The lease-up schedule may include Saturdays, Sundays, evenings, open houses, resident events, outreach events, and other high-traffic leasing opportunities. Flexibility is essential during lease-up.
Success in This Role Looks Like

• Leasing goals are consistently met or exceeded.

• Prospect follow-up is timely, thorough, and well-documented.

• Tours are polished, personalized, and highly effective.

• Applications are processed accurately and efficiently.

• Move-ins are organized, smooth, and positive.

• The leasing pipeline is actively managed every day.

• Outreach efforts generate qualified traffic.

• The property has strong energy, strong momentum, and a strong market presence.

• The Leasing Consultant is known as a high-output closer who helps drive the success of the lease-up.

Compensation & Benefits
Meritus Property Group offers a competitive compensation package based on experience, qualifications, and market factors. This role may be eligible for leasing commissions or performance-based bonus opportunities, along with company benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, rental discount eligibility, professional development, and additional company-sponsored benefits.
This is an excellent opportunity for a motivated leasing professional who wants to perform, earn, and grow.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Meritus Property