Commercial Real Estate Data Every Broker Should Track

March 15, 2024
10 min

Data is the new gold of modern times. In the past, data was used primarily for market analysis and property valuation. However, today, commercial real estate data is being used for various purposes, such as risk management, marketing, and decision-making.

Having the right information sources opens the door to more lucrative deals and overall success.

However, to mine the right commercial property details, brokers spend enough time collecting, aggregating, processing, and tracking various data.

According to Deloitte, managers could spend as much as 80 percent of their time gathering or manipulating commercial real estate data to prepare it for analysis. Such inefficiencies stop some institutional investors and managers from exploring new sources of data and in-depth analytical tools and capabilities.

To save your time and effort, we decided to overview commercial real estate data every broker should track, first analyzing its importance and types, then looking into the real estate data sources and effective CRM tools for processing property intel.

Commercial Real Estate Data: Definition and Importance

 

What is commercial real estate data? Commercial real estate data is a general definition that covers location, building size, zoning, transactional and financial data, ownership and tenant data, market analyses, consumer behaviors and demographics, number of units, loan and lender data, noteworthy points of interest, future developments, trends in CRE industry, and more.

According to resources by McKinsey&Company, in 2020, there were an estimated 200 billion data points available on commercial real estate. By 2025, this number is expected to reach 1 trillion.

By aggregating tons of CRE data, brokers can forecast their business’s health and financial future and predict the prospects ups and downs of the CRE market. The more real-time insights and granular information they get, the better opportunities brokers will offer for clients.

 

Why is Commercial Real Estate Data Important?

 

CRE brokers and companies use data to create differentiators and an edge over competitors. Also, commercial real estate databases help them make better decisions, create strategic plans, and get accurate benchmarks.

However, many CRE brokers still use Excel as a CRM to store Contacts, Companies, and Deals. It inevitably caused setbacks in document management and slowed down commercial real estate data processing.

With stats from CRE data providers like Crexi and Costar, brokers can become more efficient and quickly analyze dedicated properties; especially when using a CRE tool with multiple property data points, like AscendixRE CRM.

When you combine the analytics, commercial real estate databases, and predictive tools within AscendixRE CRM, you make the most informed decisions. Plus, it provides you with tools for collecting internal data and mixing it with the aggregated proprietary data to get a comprehensive matrix of property intelligence. As a result, you get precise business and investment choices.

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Who Can Benefit from CRE Data?

Type of CRE Expert
For what purposes uses CRE Data
Agents & Consultants

-Market Analysis
-Property Search
-Property Valuation
-Competitive Analysis
-Client Advisement
-Investment Decision-Making
-Location Analysis
-Risk Mitigation
-Marketing and Advertising
-Negotiation
-Client Retention
-Compliance
Owners & Investors

-Market Assessment
-Property Valuation
-Risk Mitigation
-Portfolio Optimization
-Asset Management
-Investment Analysis
-Market Entry Strategy
-Tenant Analysis
-Capital Allocation
-Exit Strategy
-Financing Decisions
-Compliance
-Strategic Partnerships
Developers

-Market Identification
-Market Demand Analysis
-Site Selection
-Feasibility Studies
-Competitive Analysis
-Design and Amenities
-Financing and Investment
-Partnerships
-Regulatory Compliance
-Construction Management
-Market Timing
-Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
-Marketing and Sales Strategy
-Risk Mitigation
Other Professionals

-Market Analysis
-Risk Mitigation
-Competitors research
-Data-driven marketing campaigns
-Target advertising
-Tracking of the latest industry trends

There are 4 main groups of commercial real estate industry players that hunt for CRE data and benefit from it:

  • Agents & Consultants

Commercial real estate data empowers agents and consultants with the information they need to provide top-notch service to their clients, make informed decisions towards buying/leasing/selling specific property, and navigate the complexities of the commercial real estate market. As we mentioned earlier, right CRE data opens doors to successful deal closing.

  • Owners & Investors

Property intel empowers owners and investors with the information needed to make data-driven decisions concerning investments, commercial property market entry, partnerships, etc. CRE data also helps to evaluate property performance, mitigate risks, and achieve investment objectives.

  • Developers

Property developers use commercial real estate data to evaluate and track every stage of the development process, from market identification and property site selection to design, financing, and marketing. It enhances the creation of successful and profitable commercial real estate projects.

  • Other Professionals

Here, we mean everyone related to the commercial real estate industry: from a parking lot business owner looking for garages, an advertising company in search of advertising rights on buildings to suppliers trying to get in contact with landlords and property lawyers working with due diligence reports.

In the same way, as in the previous three categories, CRE data serves other industry professionals as a solid basis for business strategies, marketing campaigns, etc.

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Types of Commercial Real Estate Data

 

What type of commercial real estate data do exactly brokers track? Here’s a specific look at the different dataset types and the importance of each.

Types of Commercial Real Estate Data
Type Description Who uses this data
Commercial Property DataProperty data is the most fundamental type of CRE data. It includes:
-Asset Type
-Location
-Building Size
-Zoning
-Lot size
-Number of units
-Commercial property price data
The commercial property data is valuable for investors, CRE brokers, lenders.
Transactional Data This data helps to analyze the past and present value of a property and its potential return for the owner. Important for investors, brokers, appraisers, and banks — anyone involved in CRE investment in any shape or form.
Commercial Mortgage Loan & Lender Data This type of data describes debt history and mortgage amounts, the past and present debt associated with a parcel and its owner. Important for debt brokers, CRE brokers, mortgage brokers, lenders.
Commercial Tenant DataIt is information about current and past tenants, and their lease expirations. Useful for leasing brokers.
Ownership Data Provides information about past and current owners of the property. Important to anyone who wants to buy or sell that property — from loans to landscaping, from property management to new insurance policies.
Market Data Includes information about the cost of property on the market, the reasons for investing in certain building amenities, types of return, etc.Every industry participant, from investors to bankers to management companies, rely on market data.

As you can see, commercial real estate data takes many forms. The importance of each type of data will vary depending on the individual searcher’s specific requirements.

For example, property-level data (the most basic) is essential for property valuation.

Then there’s another bucket of data — transaction data. Transaction data includes the property’s ownership and sales history, loan data, and rent rolls used for market analysis and underwriting the deal.

The third type of commercial real estate data is market data. Market data includes economic and socioeconomic factors, local supply and demand, market rents, capital market access, and more.

Tenant data provides insight into median household income, median household age, purchasing power, ownership rates vs renters.

Tenant data is aggregated by investors and CRE specialists to get an overview of the market environment, target potential tenants, understand the demand for space in a particular market, and negotiate lease terms.

All these types of data serve as vital commercial real estate information resources for making informed decisions about perspective investments.

Key Commercial Real Estate Data to Monitor

 

Investors, tenant reps, landlord reps, and developers use different commercial real estate data depending on their needs. For example, an investor might be interested in demographic or transaction data, whereas a lender might be interested in rent rolls and occupancy data.

And what commercial real estate data should brokers track? (presented on AscendixRE CRM)

1. The level of inquiry – You can set the proper level of inquiry in AscendixRE CRM whenever you need. Over time you can graph that inquiry to see seasonal results and trends.

AscendixRE CRM Inquiries

2. The source of inquiry – With AscedixRE CRM, you can analyze the channels of inquiry to strengthen them with marketing solutions.

AscendixRE СRM active inquires

3. The types of property required – Whether you are looking for a predominance of property inquiries for warehouses, offices, or retail, AscendixRE CRM covers a great variety of types to choose from.

4. Availabilities – This information helps CRE brokers to check the available properties in specific areas. To get a detailed list, you can set criteria for property owners, type, market, size of the location, use type.

Ascendix Search map

5. Location – You can set up the criteria to get the list of suitable properties in the area. The list includes information about the unit number, record type, use type.

Ascendix Search property on the map

6. Rent and price expectations – Understanding the current state of prices on the market prevents brokers from giving false information and clients from unrealistic price expectations.

7. Marketing and media channels – You can manage the impact of a marketing campaign in the sales process, the number of leads and opportunities to check the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.

AscendixRE addons

8. Commercial real estate listing database – AscendixRE CRM includes extended listings with pricing, status, property type, that you may show to your clients.

AscendixRE listings

9. Your current business workflow – Analyse your activities by sales, track prospective tenants, average property type, and your tenant’s lease expirations. Having this data on a single dashboard gives a complete picture of your business.

Broker's dashboard in AscendixRE CRM

The era of using Excel for tracking all your commercial real estate data has passed by. Modern CRM systems offer extended and advanced solutions for real estate data processing. For CRE brokers, the implementation of a CRM in their business means:

  • Quick access to up-to-date data wherever you are
  • Ability to provide your clients with access to specific data
  • Fast data filtering process
  • Receive notifications about lease expiration on time
  • Have a database of verified connections
  • Schedule calls and set up arrangements in one click
  • Generation of branded reports.

With AscendixRE CRM you can get key property data, even when you’re on the go:

  • Title documents & sales
  • Liens & mortgages
  • Property income and expenses
  • Certificates of occupancy
  • Square footage and unit count
  • Permits & violations
  • Property photos
  • FAR and zoning.

AscendixRE CRM is designed to help you be more efficient, cut out manual processes, become a smarter broker, learn more from market analytics, and make critical decisions to edge out your competitors based on data.

Request AscendixRE CRM Demo

See how AscendixRE can help you close more deals and improve your prospecting.

Commercial Real Estate Data Sources

As the commercial real estate market becomes more complex, the demand for data is increasing. It drives the development of new commercial real estate data sources such as:

  • National MLS and CIE
  • Brokerage reports
  • Brokerage databases
  • Public records
  • Commercial Real Estate Associations
  • Lease and Sales comps

National MLS and CIE

MLS (Multiple Listing Services) and CIE (Commercial Information Exchange) are great sources of commercial real estate data. Both platforms contain valuable information. However, MLSs are more for residential listings, whereas CIEs contain commercial property listings. The latter are akin to local database throughout the US.

Examples of MLS are CoStar, LoopNet, Zillow Commercial, Realtor.com, Redfin Commercial.

Examples of CIE are CIMLS, Catylist, Lousiana Commercial Database, St. Louis Commercial Data Systems (STLCDS), TotalCommercial CIE.

 

 

Brokerage Reports

Many brokerage shops and companies issue quarterly reports that include tenant and market data.

These reports are free and highlight information about market size, trends, major transactions, and more.

You may check JLL, Colliers and Newmark Knight Frank reports published on a regular basis.

Brokerage Databases

Brokerage databases are akin to big storages or online portals loaded with contact information of other CRE brokers and commercial property details.

Examples of brokerage databases are theBrokerList and RealConnex.

Public Records

One of the best ways to find commercial real estate data is to search for a municipality’s local property records. These records also include building permits, court records, registry of deeds, and more. Then, this commercial real estate dataset is compiled into an assessor’s database.

Commercial Real Estate Associations

Another way to find useful CRE data providers is to sign up for an association like SIOR (Society of industrial and Office Realtors) with 3,400 members, CCIM Institute (Certified Commercial Investment Member) with 35,000 members, ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers), CREW Network (Commercial Real Estate Women) with 12,000 members, or ULI (Urban Land institute) with 45,000 members.

Membership opens the door for networking and sharing market expertise, tracking CRE news and insights.

 

 

Lease and Sales comps

Identifying commercial lease and transaction data can be complicated. However, brokers use this type of data to make target follow-ups when a tenant’s lease is expiring, evaluate comps, identify market opportunities, and much more.

Such platforms as CompStak, Core Logic, Real Capital Analytics and Reonomy help brokers to find real-time lease and sales comps.

Why Track Your CRE Data in a CRM h2

 

The era of using Excel as a CRM has passed by. In order to maximize the benefits from your commercial real estate data, your own internal contact and property data, you need a solution that goes beyond just storing and organizing data details. AscedixRE CRM for commercial real estate is a great solution to consider.

For CRE brokers, the implementation of a CRM like AscendixRE in their business means:

  • Filtered and clean data
  • Quick access to up-to-date data wherever you are
  • Access to collaboration & deal rooms
  • Ability to provide your clients with access to specific data
  • Ability to receive notifications about lease expiration on time
  • Database with verified connections
  • Scheduling calls and set up arrangements in one click
  • Generation of branded reports/property flyers/templates without leaving a CRM
  • Comparison of property comps in your CRM with comps located on the map
  • Ability to send the collection of Properties/Opportunities/Leases to the target audience and launch mass email campaigns using AscendixRE integration with Mailchimp.

AscendixRE CRM is designed to help you be more efficient, cut out manual processes, become a smarter broker, learn more from market analytics, and make critical decisions to edge out your competitors based on data.

AscendixRE CRM provides access to commercial real estate data even when you’re on the go.

Contact us and read about Ascendix products to learn how our solutions can change your CRE business in a more profitable way.

FAQ

What Is Commercial Real Estate Data?

Commercial real estate data is a general definition that covers location, building size, zoning, transactional and financial data, ownership and tenant data, market analyses, consumer behaviors, and demographics, number of units, loan and lender data, noteworthy points of interest, future developments, trends in CRE industry, and more.

What Commercial Real Estate Data to Track?

  • Commercial Property Data
  • Transactional Data
  • Commercial Mortgage Loan & Lender Data
  • Commercial Tenant Data
  • Ownership Data
  • Market Data

What are Commercial Real Estate Information Resources?

  • National MLS and CIE
  • Brokerage reports
  • Brokerage databases
  • Public records
  • Commercial Real Estate Associations
  • Lease and Sales comps

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