With more than 100 real estate companies now implementing its solutions across the Middle East, Yardi’s property and asset management software solution is trusted for its scalability and flexibility. In a year that has challenged every sector, Said Haider talks about the opportunities he sees in real estate and how Yardi is ready to scale up to meet the needs of the industry next year.
How uncertain has the real sector been during the pandemic?
While some segments of the economy, such as travel and hospitality, face an uncertain future, real estate has the advantage of being a cornerstone of stability and safety during these uncertain times. Many e-commerce and technology-based industries are also persevering amidst Covid-19. In the era of the coronavirus, companies are being challenged to find ways to streamline operations, while maintaining a high quality of products and services. In the real estate industry, this sense of urgency has been felt across the value chain, from landlords and property managers down to homeowners and tenants.
What kind of opportunities does the real estate sector bring for a company like Yardi?
The crisis has sparked unpredictable shifts in the real estate marketplace, presenting opportunities that won’t wait for a return to normalcy. We have witnessed exceptional for solutions that help facilitate social distancing and reduce operational costs, from digital marketing to online leasing, lease renewals, rent payments and maintenance requests, which will be expected even after the pandemic ends.
Yardi helps companies to go fully paperless with end-to-end solutions catering to every stakeholder in the industry. We remain committed to supporting our clients throughout the course of this pandemic and providing seamless continuity of service. We responded to COVID-19 by introducing a set of new solutions and have released enhancements to our existing products which ensure that our clients are managing their businesses as effectively as possible. We have also ramped up free online learning courses to cover multiple competency areas, including Yardi software skills, required compliance, company policies, safety, leasing, procedures and professional skills. The Yardi platform has enabled our clients to increase operational efficiencies and deliver a range of successes. This in turn has helped us maintain business growth despite all the current market challenges and continue product development.
Your forecast for 2021? What do you will be the major trends in construction and real estate?
During 2021, we predict the construction cycle to slow down due the introduction of new regulations to balance out supply and demand. Looking at the pipeline of upcoming developments, there is expected to be further pressure exerted on all asset classes of all grades across the region. We expect real estate developers and operators to continue offering a range of incentives and subsides such as fee waivers, discounts, deferments, rent-to-own and more to help prices stabilize or even increase in the next 12 months.
Yardi continues to be the catalyst for change in the industry from finding innovative ways of offering differentiated solutions amid a global pandemic to leveraging technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, machine learning, and blockchain to solve big business challenges.
Please talk about your product range that will be available in the market in 2021?
Yardi Middle East will soon welcome a new comprehensive suite of products, Yard Elevate Suite, a complete solution that delivers in-depth operational data, deal management, market intelligence, predictive insights, budgeting, revenue forecasting and business intelligence. The bottom line for Yardi Elevate users is more control, easier access and unprecedented portfolio visibility with in-depth operational data and predictive insights with recommended actions to elevate asset performance by lowering costs, balancing risk and increasing revenue. Let me brief you about each of the modules in the Elevate suite:
Yardi Lease Manager offers extensive options to view and manage tenant exposure to risk. Finance and asset management teams can visualize total number of deferrals and abatements and aging AR. Property management teams can oversee collections and communications for pursuits. With comprehensive data and oversight, Lease Manager gives you the tools to analyze and report on portfolio health.
Yardi Deal Manager improves tenant relations and intercompany communication about available space, existing customers and deals. Schedule tasks, assign follow-ups and track changes at the tenant, property or unit level. Comprehensive reporting capabilities seamlessly combine information from Deal Manager and Voyager into actionable insight.
Yardi Forecast Manager makes budgeting more accurate and less stressful with a single platform for leasing, asset management and finance collaboration. Include up-to-date leasing assumptions in your revenue forecasts and replace risky rent roll spreadsheets with a seamless rolling forecast.
Yardi Construction Manager gives portfolio-wide visibility necessary to understand your jobs’ progress against milestones. Leverage data effectively, connect users and manage vendors with accurate, real-time data across multiple capital projects. Construction Manager lays on top of Yardi Job Cost to enable full-service job costing and receivables data on all jobs, from capital expenditures and single-unit improvements to ground-up development.
Yardi Facility Manager helps keep your properties in optimal condition with planned and preventative maintenance oversight that includes code compliance checks, warranty maintenance and regular inspections. Experience fewer equipment breakdowns and save money with automated planned preventative maintenance scheduling.
Yardi Payment Processing speeds up rent collection, eliminate bank runs and streamline vendor payments. Add convenience for your residents, tenants, and staff with a complete solution for accounts receivable and accounts payable for residential and commercial properties.
Yardi Investment Manager is a fully connected solution that improves communications with current and prospective investors. Manage new investment opportunities including the subscription process and track activities, tasks and correspondence to build and grow relationships. It includes a portal to provide a branded experience for your investors. They can log in from any device, anywhere to access portfolio information, key documents and reports, new investment opportunities, and manage their profile.
