Alternatives To CoStar: Market Data & Property Valuation Platforms
Does your business require Costar? The determining factor really depends on the level of glandular data you require in preparing presentations for your clients. Whether your business is localized or more geographical diverse will also play a part in your decision on whether your business absolutely must have access to Costar. We all love to criticize Costar, but it is hard to deny that they have one hell of product.
As we discussed in our last post, if you're fortunate to work in a city whose Commercial Board has stepped up and taken responsibility to provide and manage a local commercial MLS you will have an easier time providing valuations and market analysis without Costar.
If your business is more landlord and investment focused there are a variety of effective platforms available to the CRE community for analyzing and valuing individual properties and geographic markets in addition to Costar. Although we may miss a few, we have identified what we believe to be the most of the platforms that provide macro market data and property valuation solutions.
In alphabetical order our findings are:
Argus-investment-suite - Argus Enterprise, Taliance and Voyanta, are part of the Altus Group suite of products, and together provide for a direct correlation analysis between asset performance to investor returns. From modelling investment structures, to assets and portfolios, Argus Enterprise provides a complete view of your assets performance from top down.
In addition, Argus Acquire brings together a property's key acquisitions data, workflows and financial models to help create winning strategies, and meet capital deployment targets. Altus Group arguably has created one of the most robust platforms available to our industry.
Boxwood Means - Since their beginnings as a real estate research firm, Boxwood has built a data-centric culture, with a tech-intensive infrastructure and an industry reputation for providing tools and insights that boost performance in the small-cap CRE domain. They offer a wide range of valuation products and services designed to fit any kind of financial institution and every type of property from warehouses and strip centers to office condos, and mixed use properties. Their flagship product is their valuation solution FieldSmart .
Bowery - Bowery, part of the LightboxCRE family of products, has designed and built a powerful technology platform through a best in class team of appraisers. The platform integrates directly with available public data-sources, automatically generating valuable property information - saving appraisers and brokers creating BOV's time and increasing the overall accuracy of their appraisals.
Bullpen - Build an on-demand team of commercial real estate freelancers to help balance the ebbs and flows for investors and brokers who don't require full-time analysts. Bullpen's commercial real estate analysts are vetted through a rigorous skills assessment before being accepted into the Bullpen network. Analysts are skilled in several valuation platforms and are available on an hourly or project basis..
Compstak - CompStak gathers and quality checks lease and sales comps from those professionals in the market making deals. The Compstak team is responsible for ensuring the reliability of the lease and sales comps in the platform. The platform provides access to recent sales and leases of each building, including price, seller, cap rate.
CompStak analytics is a market intelligence platform that delivers tailored insight into market trends, custom data sets, and comparisons of multiple markets nationwide. Their recent announced integration with Trepp will only enhance the quality of their data set.
CommissionTrac - Utilizing CommissionTrac's back office automation platform also provides clients the ability to create and analyze their own internal database of sale and lease comparables. Through CommissionTrac's proprietary technology sale and more importantly lease comparable information is collected through deal vouchers created by brokers and agents. Comparables are extremely accurate because agents must feel out the voucher to get paid their correct commissions.
CRE Suite - A major software update recently released by CREModels enhanced the platform useability for acquisition and development teams in commercial and multifamily real estate to communicate and manage all their critical data for individual and portfolio investments. A hub for managing and accessing critical real estate data, The CRE Suite was designed for ease of use and to connect teams regardless of their location. It includes tools for pipeline management, financial analysis, development, asset-management.
The platform mirrors the way today's investment and development teams operate. Specialized tools inside the platform were designed specifically for acquisitions directors, analysts, marketing groups, and admin staff in the CRE industry.
CREXi - CREXi's Market Intelligence platform, searchable comps and in-depth market reports combine rich data and deep market analysis, making it easy to identify and evaluate the right opportunities for your investment strategy.
Dealpath - Dealpath was created for real estate investment and development teams with a platform to drive maximum value from pipeline to portfolio management. Dealpath's mission is to empower real estate investment and capital market analysts with data and collaboration tools through their proprietary software.
FuelCRE - FuelCRE is a cloud-based technology platform for commercial real estate investors and professionals. With a focus on valuation, forecasting and data, which is intuitive, fast, collaborative, and affordable the platform allows users to accurately model their real estate assets, collaborate with external parties, while providing a robust reporting and analysis solution.
iLevel - Created for general partners, limited partners and fund managers, iLEVEL provides clients the ability to streamlines data collection, portfolio monitoring, analytics, valuation and reporting. The platform allows the flow of data to create a single source of truth to make informed decisions and communicate transparently with investors, auditors, board of directors and stakeholders.
Investor Management Services - IMS - A member of the Realpage family of products, (IMS) is a leading provider of investor management software for CRE owners and investment firms. The IMS platform facilitates communication with investors and provides a platform to manage investment data. The tools within IMS also help streamline the typical syndication process
LightboxDMP - One of the family of products from LightboxCRE. Through acquisition and organic investment, LightBoxCRE has combined some of the most respected brands in CRE technology bringing data together platforms to maximize valuation and data aggregation.
DMP provides context to the world around you with a powerful and extensive location intelligence platform which includes SmartParcels , SpatialStream, and LandVision which many believe the best available mapping application in the industry.
MRI - MRI software is a leading provider of innovative real estate software applications and hosted solutions. MRI's comprehensive and flexible technology platform coupled with an open and integrated ecosystem provides their customers the ability to handle property-level management and accounting, as well as, investment analysis on local, national or global scale.
planEASe - Has offered commercial development and real estate analysis software to the industry for more than 40 years. planEASe enables you to deliver a property analysis website, allowing for a visual and effective way to communicate with clients and prospects. The platform provides lease by lease analysis, property development, acquisition and deposition valuations for their clients investments.
ProApod - ProAPOD offers real estate investment software solutions for customers to, build, or grow a rental income property business.. The solutions provide beginners and experienced real estate agents, investors, and analysts conducting multifamily and commercial property evaluations to be equipped with the analytical tools they need to handle basic or sophisticated analysis.
ProCalc - An MRI company, the ProCalc Lease Analysis program allows commercial real estate professionals the ability to create, compile and compare any type of office, industrial or retail leasing or purchasing scenario in under 2 minutes. Many believe the best tool for lease analysis in the industry.
PropertyMetric - The web-based platform allows customers to create commercial real estate valuations and analysis with easy to use tools to create, analyze, and share a real estate proforma's. Unlike most enterprise platforms for commercial real estate a, this simple-to-use, affordable, platform can build detailed cash flow proforma's, run discounted cash flow analysis, generate presentation-quality PDF and Excel reports in just minutes.
for sharing with clients and prospects.
RealData - RealData is an excel based platform designed to help investors with small and large portfolios. RealData provides users investment analysis capability, the ability to
evaluate investments property with user-friendly interfaces. The platform also provides customers detailed financial reports showing investment potential of commercial and residential income properties. The platform accommodates any income-property project from office, retail, mixed-use, warehouse and multifamily housing.
Reonomy - Reonomy leverages big data, partnerships and machine learning to connect the fragmented, disparate world of commercial real estate. By providing access to property intelligence, Reonomy products empower individuals, teams, and companies to unlock insights and discover new opportunities. Using proprietary algorithms and machine learning, the platform can provide up-to-date and accurate marketplace analysis.
REDI includes a complete property universe continuously updated with the latest availabilities and sales transactions in the geographic markets it covers. With nearly 25 years of servicing the CRE industry, their time-tested platform focuses specifically on the needs of the CRE professionals. REDIComps promotes itself as the original and only nationwide appraiser focused exchange for sale, lease, income, and construction comps.
RealQuest - a Corelogic owned solution, which provides information intelligence to identify and manage growth opportunities, improve business performance and manage risk. CoreLogic offers fast and high-quality valuation services using advanced data and technology. Their data-enabled valuations and appraisals help clients understand, diagnose and monitor property value.
REIS - A Moody's Analytics solution. Moody's Analytics Real Estate Information Services provides an eco-system of connected applications that join extensive real estate data sets with investment and risk assessment workflows so you can make better, faster decisions.
REIS offers integrated sales, rent, and construction property comparables to assess, quantify and manage the risks of default and loss associated with individual mortgages, properties, portfolios and real estate backed securities. The Network is linked with powerful search functionality allowing customers to retrieve pertinent information while effortlessly migrating data across multiple applications.
The platform provides the ability to view commercially zoned structures and land parcel in their national database, retrieve key building-level data, access interactive mapping that provides a visual representation of the commercial real estate landscape, and create comprehensive property reports that integrate Reis's building-level intelligence, extensive sales transaction database, and market trends and forecasts,
Realmassive\DataQ U - RealMassive's proprietary technology combines sourced data from key industry partners and thousands of online and offline sources. Each commercial property is ingested, validated and updated in real-time, delivering the most comprehensive, accurate data directly to you. The platform then evaluates current market conditions and performance as it happens so you can rapidly adjust strategy to capitalize on opportunities. The system purportedly can spot trends and analyze market activity as it occurs with data that is captured, validated, and updated in real time.
RealNex - RealNex markets their suite of solutions as the most efficient and productive of the multitude of CRE platforms, providing customers with all the tools they require into one comprehensive platform. The RealNex Team includes pioneers and leaders from commercial real estate brokerage, banking, valuation and software.
Market Edge - Allows clients to produce up to 20-year cash flow projections, DCF analysis, and ROI calculations while analyzing and comparing multiple lease proposals, expenses, security deposits, CAM and real estate commissions into clean and easy-to-read spreadsheets. The platform's automated document generation process helps focuses brokers, owners, and investors on real data enhancing their ability to perform.
Real Capital Markets - Real Capital Markets (RCM), another of the suite of products offered by Lightbox CRE is the global marketplace for buying and selling commercial real estate. RCM,, increases the speed, exposure, and security of CRE sales through its streamlined online platform. Clients have the ability to create integrated property reports, and completely manage the entire transaction process on the RCM platform.
RealDash - RealDash is an all-in-one software platform that streamlines the deal process for commercial real estate professionals.The RealDash team is composed of technology and real estate experts who have created a cutting-edge, cloud-based platform that manages all aspects of commercial real estate investment
STRATAFOLIO - Stratafolio is an online software solution designed specifically for people who own or manage real estate, The platform allows clients one complete global view of their debt, as well as , core industry metrics LTV, DCR, LTC. The platform provides an interactive view of all combined real estate company financials in one location, while giving customers the ability to drill down to a single asset giving insights to manage your business quickly and efficiently.
The AnaylstPro - This powerful solution, creates a detailed discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis report with, before or after tax scenarios. TheAnalyst PRO market itself with the unique ability to create a comprehensive analysis with only 8 required input fields. The platform gives clients the ability to create investment analysis, comparative lease analysis, lease vs. own comparisons, loan analysis and target cap rate analysis
Valuate - Valuate is a web-based software service for analyzing and presenting property acquisitions and dispositions. The platform provides buyers and investors deal-screening tools, a simplified pro-forma tool and unlevered, levered returns analysis for individual investors as well as joint venture partnerships.Valuate replaces the use of Excel, and has the ability to integrate with ARGUS. for office, industrial, retail, multi-family, hotel and self-storage properties.
Trepp - Trepp, is a leading provider of data, analytics, and technology solutions to the global securities and commercial property investment managers . Trepp specifically serves three key sectors: structured finance, commercial real estate, and banking to help clients meet their objectives for monitoring, credit risk management, and investment performance. Trusted by the industry for the accuracy of its proprietary data, Trepp provides clients with sophisticated, comprehensive models and analytics through direct online platform.
Yardi - Matrix , a member of the Yardi family of products leverages market data and information for real estate professionals. The platform empowers small businesses with the same information that leading real estate investors across the U.S. rely on to make better business decisions. For multifamily, office, industrial and self storage properties, Matrix delivers the information investors need to create their underwriting and asset management processes.
Yardi Elevate for commercial real estate is the most comprehensive asset management solution on the market providing in-depth operational data, streamlined revenue forecasting and portfolio management to help property owners and investors lower costs, balance risk and increase revenue.
Yardi Deal & Forecast manager provides an easy-to-use deal management platform for asset managers and their internal and/or third party brokerage partners.
To stay abreast of the technological innovations in the world of commercial real estate the following blogs offer intelligent and comprehensive access to all things technology happening in our industry.
Provides a direct insiders insight on all things in the world of commercial real estate technology
JLL Spark is a strategic global venture fund investing in startups transforming commercial real estate through technology.
Author: Daniel Levison - Chairman CRE Holdings (Atlanta Investment Properties, Commercial Property Consultants, CommissionTrac, Sharedspace)