Property management technology trends

For commercial real estate providers, embracing new property management technology trends is key to having a commercial advantage. Implementing the right software or new technology can save time, reduce cost, and add significant value to the business.

With a surge in investment in proptech over the last couple of years, real estate tech will be more readily adopted. CRE owners will need to stay on top of property management and smart building trends to compete in a more technology-enabled market.

Virtual reality is a growing trend in the real estate sector, with 360 virtual tours allowing potential tenants the ability to view space at their convenience from anywhere. The use of VR in real estate improves customer experience, giving potential tenants or buyers more choice over the way they browse. We all know how time-consuming searching for an office space or flat can be, now, individuals can gain several hours of their time back by only viewing their shortlists after an initial virtual tour.

Matteport offers an all-in-one 3D data platform that “lets you turn a space into an accurate and immersive digital twin”. Commercial real estate providers can choose a monthly subscription based on the number of spaces they have.

This growing trend has no sign of slowing down, with the virtual reality market expected to be worth $2.6 billion in real estate alone by 2025 (see future of real estate technology).

Property management software allows you to collect rent, log and manage maintenance issues and generate rental listings – all on one platform. Many real estate providers and property management firms are already using some sort of property management software to manage their work, but with SaaS on the scene, it may be worth making the shift.

Although SaaS (software as a service) business models are not new, they still only account for 20% of total enterprise software and is therefore still a small percentage compared to on-premise software. But, with the SaaS market growing significantly, growing at almost 30% per year, leading real estate providers are now making the shift and are benefiting significantly.

The benefit of a cloud-based property management software is that functionalities and features are constantly updated, meaning you’ll always have the best version of the software, compared to a self-hosted application. They also manage security and performance issues, offering a more secure and hassle-free option for businesses. Plus, it makes scaling your portfolio much easier.

Appfolio is a leading property management SaaS provider working with providing solutions for both residential and commercial real estate. GSF Properties are one of their clients, who were still using an old school paper ledger system before making the shift. Implementing the software has allowed them to scale with ease.

Arthur is another example of a SaaS property management software. They allow the ability to integrate with other third-party software such as Signable and even custom integrations such as software you’re already using.