The current situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is inoculating high doses of uncertainty in a large part of the global economy. Its effects are more than visible in many sectors and Managing tomorrow’s consequences today is especially important in this context and taking into account all the actors that can contribute to accelerating the recovery is essential, especially in a sector so relevant to economic activity. of our country, such as real estate.
In this sense, it is worth noting the activity of real estate servicers. The presence of these companies in Spain is relatively recent if compared to the track record they have in other European countries or in the United States. Years later, the scenario generated by the 2008 financial crisis led to the entry into the market of these companies specialized in the management of real estate asset portfolios, from their origin to the final product itself, that is, they participate and support the entire chain. of value to banks or funds now owners. Since then, his role has been fundamental in helping to consolidate and professionalize a market that was unbalanced at the time.
On the one hand, to greatly clean up their balance sheets of “toxic” assets. The acquisition by these companies of large portfolios allowed them to return to their traditional business, that is, the financing of all types of products for companies and families. Therefore, removing these assets from their balance sheets allowed a large part of the country’s financial system to recover the lost balance, a fundamental factor in helping the economy at that time.
Intense and challenging changes are coming that require flexibility and innovation
On the other hand, the arrival of the servicers marked the beginning of a process of professionalization of the sector until then unknown in Spain. Usually it is said that servicers manage real estate assets and it is precisely in the verb ‘manage’ where the key is found. Servicers are specialized in the entire process necessary to optimize an asset. This is a complex exercise that requires teams with knowledge in different areas and that covers the entire life cycle of the asset and all segments of the real estate sector. Plots, land, unfinished buildings, new construction, second-hand housing, in large cities, in small towns, on the coast or in the interior. Knowledge of the type of asset and its location is only part of the management that these companies must do. Added to this is the necessary legal understanding or a specific technological infrastructure, among many other factors.
It is precisely this very specific knowledge that has provided value up to now, and in many cases, these companies have been essential in speeding up the dynamism of the financial sector. And it will continue to be so. Servicers have demonstrated over the last few years a high capacity for adaptation and management to a market that they arrived at at a difficult time. Now, the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and its effects, still to be determined, redraw a complex economic scenario. Just as an example, it should be remembered that between March and August 2020 there were six consecutive months of falls of more than 10%, according to the INE. It is just one of the many figures that reflects this new scenario, in which having experienced and knowledgeable partners that provide solutions and help maintain the dynamics of market activity is more necessary than ever.
The pandemic has also coincided with a turning point for both the financial and real estate sectors. In the first, the banking concentrations that are going to modify the Spanish financial panorama. Regarding the real estate sector, it should be noted that before the Covid-19 arrived, it was in a moment of consolidation of the traditional segments and other trends were beginning to emerge.
that we are at the gates of a new market, very intense and also challenging, which will require the best teams, flexibility and innovation to strengthen our real estate market. All market players will have a role in ensuring that this recovery leads to a stronger sector. For all these reasons, the future of servicers and their activity appears, once again, to be essential in the search for a new balance in the not too distant future.