Commercial Real Estate
How Commercial Real Estate Owners Run Their Businesses
This infographic gives an inside look into how commercial real estate owners handle day-to-day operations, technological change and common pain points, as well as the opportunities they see for the future.
Get an inside look into how commercial real estate owners handle day-to-day operations, technological change and common pain points, as well as the opportunities they see for the future.
Automation and digitization are transforming how business gets done, but commercial real estate has been a late adopter among industries. So what’s holding them back? We asked nearly 200 of our clients for an inside look into their day-to-day operations, from what types of property management software they use to whether they’re concerned about technological change. Read on to see how your peers are spending their time and what keeps them up at night.
Slowed Down by Paper and Processes
The management of commercial real estate properties remains largely—and stubbornly—hands-on. The percentage of respondents who reported manually performing certain time-consuming tasks include:
Owners are collecting rent through a variety of means, from traditional to digital.
*Hover over each item in the graph for more information.
How Are Tenants Paying?
How Are Tenants Paying?
Opportunities in Software
Of the 14 property management software (PMSW) options listed in the survey, the vast majority of respondents were only familiar with up to three—suggesting there may be opportunities for commercial real estate owners to find a more efficient software solution to help manage their business.
The most-used software for property management include:
Other options listed include Rent Manager, Buildium, MRI Software, Real Page, Propertyware, Rentec Direct, Total Management, Cozy, Entrata, Tenant Cloud and Maintenance Connection.
In the future, businesses plan to use PMSWs for:
- Accounting/financial tasks (70%)
- Recording rent (66%)
- Tenant-related tasks (64%)
- Maintenance-related tasks (57%)
- Property reporting and insights (47%)
- General business tasks (46%)
Greeting Technology With Caution
Most respondents said they’re open to the idea of investing in technology (64 percent), but first they need to be certain the tech will get the job done and offer significant advantages to their business.
Your peers’ attitudes toward tech investment lean heavily on the need for convenience, speed and ease of use.
Managing Technology Issues
Nearly half of respondents (49 percent) handle tech issues themselves; approximately one-third (32 percent) hire a third-party vendor and one-tenth (10 percent) have an IT specialist on staff.
For day-to-day banking, commercial real estate owners and operators increasingly want the convenience of online banking, but also want to maintain close proximity to and strong relationships with their bank. Innovative technology was the least important motivator for choosing a day-to-day bank.
What’s Keeping Investors Up at Night…
Commercial real estate investors are most concerned about problem tenants—those who are destructive or late on rent—and government regulations. Their top pain point is finding vendors they can trust and afford.
Biggest Pain Points
Biggest Ongoing Concerns
*Hover over each item in the graph for more information.
…And What Makes Them Hopeful
Looking to the future, commercial real estate owners and operators are dreaming of a business solution that would help manage their money and provide seamless insights into investment opportunities, market rates for rent and property-level dashboards.
Biggest benefits sought
Biggest benefits sought
The majority of respondents were owners/operators in the US who invest in or manage residential, commercial or mixed-use real estate properties and are directly involved in day-to-day management.
