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What to expect in 2022? Reinventing Property Management.

What to expect in 2022? Reinventing Property Management.
Andrea Santos
Head of Property Management, Worx Real Estate Consultants

The management of a building has long ceased to be just the pure and hard day-to-day management, solving problems with the provision of a certain service, solving complaints from tenants and solving equipment failures. Increasingly, Property Management is seen as a service that adds value to the asset. As a Property Manager, I believe that the path involves having a holistic view of properties, integrating the daily management of assets with the analysis and development of medium and long-term valuation strategies. The objective is to work on the valuation, profitability and fulfillment of sustainability goals that allow for the potential of differentiating factors of the asset in the market.

Currently, the dynamics of the Real Estate market creates needs that must be met by proactive companies, with multidisciplinary teams and strong partners, focused on presenting alternative solutions to owners. These last two years were quite challenging for property managers, who were faced with completely empty buildings and devoid of daily dynamics, but who still had to find strategies and alternatives to keep them alive and always ready to return to normalcy. For this return to normality, other perspectives had to be considered and presented as a priority in the face of the new reality of office buildings, whether it was an increased concern with the health and well-being of users, or with the development of alternative tools. of communication. The property manager function gained new inputs that made companies in this area have to readapt themselves in order to keep up with new trends.

This flexibility to adapt to trends in the Real Estate market is, without a doubt, one of the great challenges of current Property Management, which has to combine the owner's expectations in terms of profitability and investments, with the needs of tenants, always maintaining the main objective is to enhance and differentiate a particular asset.

Property Management companies should, therefore, position themselves as providers of a service that adds and enhances value to the asset, by transforming buildings into places where tenants see benefits in working face-to-face, and consequently, owners also see value. your buildings. With this valuation, there is a beneficial situation for both actors.

On the other hand, it became clear that the differentiation of a property is in what it has to offer its users and, in recent times, there are several challenges that stand out here: offices with hybrid work models; building certification; and sustainability-related issues. Owners are increasingly aware of these challenges, but it is up to property managers to satisfy them by defining concrete strategies. When looking to settle, companies will unequivocally look at the potential building with other objectives, which go beyond the location and available area. They will look at the adaptability of the space, the ability to satisfy the well-being of its employees, the services it has to offer, the amenities, the sustainability measures, and of course, the technology available.

It is essential to adapt buildings to these new requirements and property managers play a key role here, in the sense of knowing how to guide owners to these new trends that are here to stay and establish a position in the Real Estate market.

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