When it comes to CRE investment analysis, stale data is worse than no data at all. Fortunately, there is a range of digital sources for accurate, up to the minute numbers on commercial property and transactions at all levels- from the local to the global.

Utilizing a few choice resources empowers us to plan comprehensively and make smarter decisions. Analytic sites gather data from all manner of sources related to the industry, including things like social media, transaction logs, and traffic sensors. They can aggregate this information and create a rich and detailed picture of market conditions, going much deeper than we’ve been able to go before. Information is presented in an easily digested format, compatible with business applications and easy to share with clients and partners.

Scoping Recent Transactions

One of the first considerations for valuing commercial property and identifying opportunities is to examine recent transactions involving similar properties and those in the immediate vicinity of the property in question.  It’s very useful to know details on the parties involved: buyers and sellers as well as brokers and lenders.

Real Capital Analytics (RCA) provides its users with up-to-date details on commercial transactions, including refinances and foreclosures.  The site lets them compare pricing and cap rates, or see the most active buyers, sellers and brokers in that market.  They also have access to comprehensive property details and can look specifically at loan activity to identify the most active originators, lenders and brokers by geography and property type, access data beyond securitized loans, and evaluate market position to understand the competitive landscape in each market.

REscour is another excellent source of transaction information. This is site includes an Insights component, which provides users with updates on properties based on specified parameters. For example, the user can be notified of developments with specific properties or on those within a certain a certain radius. Email digests can be set up to provide daily, bi-weekly, or weekly updates automatically.

Finding Comps and Property Information

Using digital tools makes it easy to get all the relevant details on virtually any commercial property. A full picture of the market includes awareness of comps in the area as well as property information that goes well beyond square footage.

As we noted above, RCA offers comprehensive property details. These include a wealth of information ranging from global trends in the marketplace to pricing in specific locations and properties. Users can search for specific property attributes and generate informative maps and other reports to share with clients and partners. Rescour also lets you utilize maps to look at comps and other market information. A glance can tell you a property’s status, nearby and similar listings, and access a constantly updated news feed.

Compstak

This is a free exchange of lease information for commercial properties. Its data are provided by its users, which include CRE brokers, appraisers, and researchers.  Again using a map format, the platform lets you see properties across an area you designate and then provides details on the leasing status of each, as well as property details.

NYC Property Shark

Focusing on the New York City market, Property Shark is an excellent resource for research and insights on commercial real estate. It supplies data on a wide range of topics, like top sales, market trends, and specific ideas like finding foreclosures. It features detailed property reports that include property characteristics (age, size, zoning), ownership details, sales history, and property tax rate.  Ownership information includes details about that person’s other holdings and partnerships.

CoStar

In business over 25 years, this is a pre-eminent source of commercial real estate intelligence. Industry leaders rely on CoStar for information on trends across all sectors of commercial real estate.  The site includes tools for investment analysis, advertising, property management, and much more. CoStar Comps provides up to a million verified sales records, enabling users to carefully examine specific markets.  

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