Accessing & Leveraging CRE Market Benchmark Data

A commercial real estate (CRE) property management system, more commonly referred to as a PMS, is a system used by property managers to manage functions such as leasing, marketing, and accounting for multifamily housing. Today, many CRE firms operate with multiple PMS, hindering them from achieving operational efficiencies. This typically occurs when individual properties across the portfolio use different systems, creating challenges when it comes to portfolio-level reporting.

In this blog, we explore the power of consolidating property management systems to drive efficiencies, enable faster reporting, and ensure that your portfolio functions at full optimization.

Why Firms May Have Multiple CRE Property Management Systems

At Lobby CRE, our team has had many discussions with clients, prospective clients, and industry leaders alike about property management systems. Throughout these conversations, we’ve learned that at one time or another (even currently), many firms have found themselves navigating multiple systems. Although their reasons for using decentralized PMS vary, the majority readily acknowledge it as a problem that slows down efficiency and keeps the business from performing at its peak. 

The challenges of managing diverse PMS in an expanding portfolio include the increased potential for errors, inefficiencies in data management, and a lack of cohesion in overall property management strategies. Also, differing reporting formats leave no room for “apples to apples” comparisons across the portfolio.

Resistance to change is a common sentiment in industries where established processes and systems have been ingrained over time. Commercial real estate professionals may be reluctant to transition from familiar legacy systems due to concerns about disruptions, potential learning curves, and the perceived risks associated with adopting new technologies. This resistance to change may also contribute to the coexistence of multiple PMS, hindering operational efficiency as teams work within the confines of outdated or incompatible systems.

Property Management Systems: Challenges with Data Silos

Data silos are one of the most common challenges CRE firms encounter when dealing with more than one property management system. When data is scattered across multiple systems and tools, redundancies and inefficiencies are more likely to occur. Tasks that should be streamlined, such as reporting and analytics, become time-consuming as teams are forced to learn multiple platforms, wait for access to tools or reports, and other preventable roadblocks

Data silos can also slow cross-departmental communication. This lack of cohesion can lead to missed opportunities, delayed responses to issues, and a breakdown in overall collaboration.

Finally, compliance with industry regulations becomes challenging when property data is stored across disparate systems. The risk of errors increases, exposing commercial real estate firms to potential legal and financial repercussions.

Three Benefits of Consolidating Your CRE Property Management Systems

Commercial real estate property management system consolidation is not just a trend; it’s a strategic move. By addressing the challenges of multiple PMS and data silos, CRE firms can better reach the full potential of their portfolios, enabling success in a competitive market. 

Here are three benefits of consolidating your CRE property management systems:

• Improved Operational Efficiency

Asset managers are responsible for ensuring success across the portfolio. When property management systems aren’t aligned, it can become difficult for asset managers to keep a tight rein on the business and its performance. Consolidated property management systems make it easier for asset managers to access the data they need at the right time. As a result, they can spend more time focusing on generating reports rather than trying to collect scattered data.

• Unified Data and Reporting

One of the most significant advantages of consolidation is the creation of a centralized repository for all property-related data. This fosters better reporting and analytics, providing valuable insights that can inform strategic decision-making. For asset managers, the ability to report across the portfolio is critical for effective management. A centralized property management system can be helpful in ensuring asset managers have access to the data that they need for all types of reporting.

• Faster, Deeper Insights

The speed of the data and insights you receive is directly connected to how timely you can identify and respond to potential challenges or performance issues in your portfolio. Consolidation creates a single source of truth for all property-related data. This centralized approach eliminates the need to gather information from disparate systems, speeding up the reporting process. When all data – from tenant information to financials and maintenance records – is stored in one place, generating reports becomes more efficient. With data consolidated into one system, the chances of errors that can occur from manual data entry or transferring information between different platforms are significantly reduced. This leads to higher data integrity and accuracy in reports. 

How Asset Management Software Consolidates Multiple PMS and Data Sources

An asset management solution such as Lobby CRE can aggregate and analyze data from multiple disparate sources – such as property management systems, accounting software, and lease administration platforms. By integrating systems, teams can identify where the data is misaligned and then fill in the gaps.

This type of functionality scales your reporting efforts and equips your firm with easy, quick access to high-quality, accurate reporting. Reports that are generated from integrated datasets represent a more complete view of your information so that you can make accurate decisions.

Read the case study to learn how Lobby CRE client, MoreSpace, uses Lobby CRE with their PMS for more actionable data.