How technology aids transparency

How technology aids transparencyAs investors demand greater transparency, the real estate industry is turning to technology platforms that can handle day-to-day property management while providing granular data to investors, says Yardi’s regional director, Terry Gowan. According to JLL’s latest Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), which tracks transparency in real estate markets, the top 10 most transparent markets attract 75 per cent of global investment. The impact has been most significant in the Asia Pacific region, which has made great strides in real estate transparency.The transparency trend is aided by technology, which enables the compilation and distribution of real-time reports about individual assets, portfolios and entire markets.”Owners of real estate are demanding better reporting, and are looking to integrate their property and investment management systems into one,” says Gowan.”Twenty years ago, there was no platform that could meet the needs of both the investor and property manager, so companies were reliant on Excel spreadsheets and paper reports. It’s a very different story today.”Yardi’s platform manages both functions, with property managers able to log onto a system to invoice tenants, collect the rent, close off the month, and then support reporting back to investors in real time.Gowan says this practice is common in the United States, and is a growing trend in Australia and New Zealand, with more than a dozen leading property companies adopting a similar approach in the region.”If you choose to move your assets from one agency to another, you don’t have to worry about new reporting systems or property management portals – you just allocate new logins to your new agency. It’s that simple.”Yardi’s system avoids data duplication and gives investors full transparency of the properties they own. This is about compliance, visibility and ensuring every dollar in and out can be tracked,” Gowan adds.Yardi, which has more than 30 offices and 00 employees worldwide, designs, develops and supports real estate investment management and property management software. For more information about Yardi, visit www.yardi.com.au