What Database Do Real Estate Agents Use?

Real estate agents in general, and commercial real estate (CRE) agents especially, rely on a huge amount of data to be successful in finding the best properties for their clients. Up-to-date, accurate, and well organized databases allow them to keep track of this commercial real estate data in the most useful way for a variety of different purposes.

What Is a Real Estate Database?

A database is defined as an organized set of information, so a real estate database is an organized set of data related to buying and selling property. A commercial real estate database stores relevant information on commercial properties, such as asset type, location, size, zoning, ownership, and lease data. 

Because there is so much data that must be organized, most CRE agents will work with several different databases that provide different types of data. In addition to the property database discussed above, they will also likely have a client database. This will be used to store information about past, present, and future clients, both those planning to purchase and those planning to sell a commercial property. They may also have similar databases for real estate brokers or other agents they have worked with in the past. For the rest of this article we will be focusing on the property database, however, since this is the most complex. 

How Is Data Used in Commercial Real Estate?

With all of this emphasis on collecting and organizing data, it is important to understand the role it plays in CRE. Commercial real estate market data helps a broker understand how much a commercial property is likely to lease for. Knowing the earning potential of a commercial space allows them to market the property to the most relevant buyers, understand if the purchase price is a good value, and advise their clients who are listing commercial properties for sale what listing price to choose.

What Are the Best Sources of Property Data?

Finding and using good data is critical for CRE agents to do their jobs. So how can you recognize the best commercial real estate data providers out of the many options? Here are some things you should look for when searching for high quality commercial real estate data:

• Completeness: Having as many details about as many properties as possible sets you up as a good authority for your clients.
• Verified accuracy: Because there are so many sources for data, it is easy to end up with incomplete or inaccurate data because it has been pulled from so many sources, and copy/pasted so many times. If you are using this data to help clients make major financial decisions, you want to know it is correct.
• Local expertise: CRE relies heavily on a true understanding of the local market and on building relationships between clients, owners, brokers, developers and other brokers. A database that simply pulls data about properties without any physical feet on the ground in the area will not be able to provide reliable and trustworthy data.
• Actionable data: The more a broker knows about a property, the better they are able to assess its value and locate the right buyer. A database that provides only a small number of datapoints won’t be showing the entire picture. You want to look for one that covers the broadest range of data points possible, to provide the highest ROI to CRE clients.

Finding all of these in one place will make a real estate agent’s job easier and help them bring the best value to their clients, which is why we at Canyon Data prioritize these 4 points in our CRE database.

Commercial Real Estate Data Analytics

Now that you know what to look for in a CRE database in general, let’s look at what specific metrics they might have that would be of value. A good CRE database will compile and organize data on all these topics. But it will also include analytics about how these factors compare to others in the area and farther afield, and how these factors are likely to affect the value of a commercial property.

• Asset type: The specific type of CRE will hugely affect who is interested in buying it. Common types include apartment complexes, office spaces, parking lots, and mixed use properties.
• Location: Exactly where a commercial property is located, and what else is located nearby is crucial to assessing value and finding the right buyer. Ease of access, visibility, parking, rent, and upkeep of neighboring properties will all affect how a commercial property presents to buyers.
• Size: The size of the building and the lot, as well as details about the size of the finished versus unfinished spaces, and square footage of each floor are all important to potential buyers.
• Zoning: Knowing the specific zoning for a commercial building, as well as for the general area where it is located, will matter greatly to the future owners of a building as it determines how the building can be used. 
• Ownership: Who owns the property now, for how long, and how much they purchased it for are all important pieces of information when trying to market a piece of CRE.
• Lease data: Current tenants in a building paying rent can be a real asset to a CRE property, as they show the real, current income potential for the property. Knowing how much the space is currently renting for, and what the terms of the current leases are is of utmost importance. Additionally, lease information on surrounding buildings of similar asset types can further assure potential buyers of what income will likely look like.

Canyon Data: Get Access to Commercial Real Estate Data You Can Trust

At Canyon Data, we know how important access to data is for a broker’s success. That’s why we use steps no one else is taking with a combination of robotics, A.I., and human collaboration to bring you the very best in commercial real estate data. Our verification process has been shown to overcome the 40-50% data inaccuracy problem that other databases struggle with, and we can’t wait to empower you to bring this extra value to your clients. Check out our subscription page to see more about all the value we can add to your work, then sign up today!