3 Reasons Real Estate Firms Can't Tap Into "The New Oil" (aka Data)

If data is the new oil (as we’ve heard many, many times), then why is the real estate industry still lagging behind in adopting new data and technology infrastructure?

 

The reason is as simple as the opening metaphor: just as you can’t fill up your car at an oil rig, neither can real estate firms just “tap into” a source of data and make it effective or actionable for their firm.

 

When dealing with oil, the process of gathering, refining, storing, processing, and delivering gasoline has been optimized, ensuring a consistent, high-quality end-product for users.

 
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CRE firms, however, lack a robust and optimized process to acquire data, process it, and use it to generate insights.  There are three main reasons for this dire situation:

1) Firms can’t refine CRE data

 
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Many available data sources are incomplete, incorrect, and either overwhelmingly large or disappointingly small. How can you make good decisions if the underlying data are faulty? CRE firms need a way to vet, verify, and correct the many data sources they rely on for information as well as a way to stay continually updated on the complete, accurate status of their buildings, markets, tenants, and competitors.

2) The CRE data pipeline is extremely leaky

 
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Each firm loses crucial insights as a result of the disconnected ways they gather, maintain, and manage their data. CRE firms store their internal and external information across disparate and disconnected spreadsheets, PDFs, software systems, emails, and human memories. Because these repositories remain uncoordinated and siloed, it is impossible to derive meaningful insights from them.

CRE firms need a system that can handle and integrate any type of data. Furthermore, this system must ensure every pertinent insight is captured, connected to ongoing trends, and readily available for teams to monitor and act on.

3) There is no gas station for CRE Data

 
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That means the firms deploying billions of dollars a year into real estate developments, acquisitions, and capital expenditures lack an intuitive, easy-to-use software tool that aggregates, analyzes, and visualizes the data and insights they rely on to make decisions.

CRE firms can make better, faster acquisitions and leasing decisions only if they integrate their intelligence. Firms need a simple yet powerful system that unlocks their data, surfaces insights, and sharpens the competitive edge they spend so much time developing.

One such tool is Predictre, the integrated intelligence platform for the commercial real estate industry. With Predictre, real estate teams can integrate 3rd party datasets, broker quarterly reports, comps spreadsheets, rent rolls, and off-market, qualitative intelligence at every level of analysis, whether a person, a company, an asset, or a market. Reach out today to learn more!!

Michael Pearce