The Foundation for Community Association Research, an affiliate of Community Associations Institute (CAI), sponsored a recent national public opinion survey to answer these and other questions. Here are some of the key findings:

• 70 percent of residents in common-interest communities say they are satisfied with their community association experience, while 8 percent express dissatisfaction and 22 percent are neutral on the question.
• 88 percent of residents believe their association board members strive to serve the best interests of the community, while 12 percent disagree or aren’t sure.

• 73 percent say their professional managers provide value to their communities, while 21 percent say their managers aren’t an asset to the association and 6 percent say they aren’t sure.

• 76 percent believe their own community association rules “protect and enhance” property values. Only 3 percent say the rules harm property values, while the rest see no difference.

• 81 percent of residents say they get a “good” or “great” return for their association assessments, while 18 percent say the return is “not so good or bad.” The rest were unsure.

We’d like to think that we can do even better than the national averages, so please tell us what you think we can do to make our community a better place to live. We encourage you to get involved, so let us know how you can help. There is no substitute for active and constructive involvement and no better way to build a true sense of community.

If you’re especially pleased about our community, share that too! It’s always good to know we’re on the right track.

More national survey results, which include comparative data from similar surveys in 2005, 2007 and 2009, are available under “Research Projects” at www.cairf.org.