Real
Estate Switzerland’s understanding of sustainability is broad
and considers ecological, economic and social factors. Tenant
satisfaction is a major component of the social factors. Real
Estate Switzerland also conducted a broad-based tenant survey
in spring 2021, comparable to 2020. Of the around 8,600
residential tenants selected at random (about one-third of the
total portfolio), 3,778 of our tenants took part: resulting in
a high response rate of 44%. On a scale from 1 to 5, the total
of our residential tenants surveyed rated their satisfaction
with property management at 3.8. Caretaking services were
rated slightly higher at 4.1. The respondents’ own
circumstances with floorplans, furnishings, the surroundings
and the perception of safety being assessed, were rated at
about 3.7. The findings from the survey will help us to guide
our appointed property managers and to make the right
decisions on maintenance, investment, and renovations.
For
last year’s tenant survey, Real Estate Switzerland and Swiss
Life, together with Livit and the Link market research
institute, developed an online tenant survey tool delivered
via a dedicated platform. The dashboard can be used to show
tenant satisfaction at individual properties within a
portfolio, but it can also be used to compare the performance
of the entire portfolio with the industry benchmark. The
benchmark continually grows through the onboarding of
additional property owners such as AXA with more institutional
owners to be added next year. The tenant survey also forms
part of the GRESB Real Estate Assessment2.
2
GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) is the
environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real
assets and provides standardized and validated ESG data to
capital markets. As a global benchmark in the field of
sustainability, GRESB is an important indicator of real estate
management. The ratings provide us on one hand with an
independent assessment of our portfolios, on the other hand
GRESB highlights the successes of our sustainability strategy
to our investors. |