How Real Estate Investment Firms Are Transforming Through Data and Agility

The real estate industry faces the reality of aiming at a shifting objective with moving goalposts. The industry’s “New Normal” is defined by ongoing volatility, the lasting ripple effects of the pandemic, and demographic shifts away from traditional urban hubs.

To succeed, real estate organizations must become more agile, and their data must be more granular. This means fundamentally rethinking operations, data, and decision-making.

The Technology Paradox

Organizations are gaining powerful tools to inform strategy as technology advances, driven by hyper-converged cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing.

However, this abundance of innovation can ironically lead to disconnection from the very outcome we're chasing: better data for better decisions.

The accessibility of advanced technologies has leveled the playing field. What now separates leaders from laggards is the ability to harness raw computing power, structure data effectively, and align technology with corporate culture and business objectives.

The Strategy First Approach as an Operating Model

A firm’s investment strategy should dictate the operating model, which in turn shapes the technology architecture.

• For long-term holds: The focus is on robust, standardized data to support consistent, long-term performance tracking and investor reporting.
• For redevelopment/repositioning: The need is for real-time operational data to track project milestones, manage costs, and inform quick strategic pivots.

Each strategy has distinct requirements in terms of reporting cadence, operational data visibility, and analytical insights.

The Data Submission Bottleneck

Traditionally, investment managers relied on periodic data submissions from third-party property managers for portfolio and fund-level reporting. This creates a critical "data bottleneck" that is no longer tenable in today's time-sensitive market. These traditional systems often provide inconsistent, high-level data that is weeks or months old, restricting visibility and making it difficult to respond to market shifts.

Most property managers continue to operate within their own property-level accounting systems, feeding data back to investment managers at intervals that no longer match market demands. Even more concerning is the level of detail, often too high-level or inconsistent to be actionable. These limitations restrict visibility into the vertical supply chain and make switching providers cumbersome, given the associated challenges around security, privacy, technology integration, and business continuity.

A Shift Toward Real-Time Architecture

We’re now seeing a clear shift: investment managers are embracing system architectures that offer real-time visibility into property management operations and transaction-level data. This new model allows for standardizing accounting policies and operational procedures across the portfolio, treating property managers as integrated business partners rather than isolated vendors.

This goes beyond just improving data pipelines. It mandates and streamlines the entire real estate management lifecycle—from acquisitions to dispositions—and lays a foundation for reporting models that are not only more elastic but also more responsive to rapid market shifts.

Adapting to an Uncertain Future

The real estate market is already demonstrating dramatic shifts that demand a data-driven approach:

• Mixed-Use and Adaptive Reuse Projects: Repurposing obsolete assets (like older office buildings) and developing mixed-use properties require granular data to evaluate a project’s feasibility, track diverse revenue streams, and manage complex operations.
• Industrial and Logistics: The continued growth of e-commerce and supply chain optimization means investment in specialized segments (e.g., cold storage, last-mile delivery) is a key trend. Success depends on real-time data to monitor supply and demand, manage operational efficiency, and identify new opportunities.
• Reimagining the Office: The shift to hybrid work has led to a shift toward Class A, amenity-rich, and ESG-certified buildings in major urban centers. Data on occupancy, tenant engagement, and building performance are needed to make informed investment and management decisions.
• Multifamily and Affordable Housing in Focus: These markets remain strong, but require detailed data to analyze rent trends, vacancy rates, and demographic shifts, particularly in fast-growing secondary markets.

How to Build a More Data-Driven Real Estate Organization

Implementing a new, agile operating model requires a systemic approach. Steps you can take to modernize your technology and data management include:

1. Define Your Investment Strategy

Before implementing any new software or system, you need to define your investment strategy and your ideal operating model. This involves asking questions like:

• What is our core investment strategy (e.g., long-term hold, value-add, redevelopment)?
• What KPIs and data points matter for our decision-making?

By clearly defining your goals, you can build a technology stack that provides the data, reporting, and analytical insights your organization needs.

2. Choose the Right Technology and Standardize Reporting

The next step is to select and integrate the right technology to create a real-time reporting framework. The goal is to gain instant visibility into property-level operations and transactional data and create a seamless flow of information. This process can involve:

• Connecting disparate systems used by different property managers
• Implementing a centralized data warehouse
• Establishing a consistent data model and reporting framework across your entire portfolio.

3. Optimize Your Operating Model

Leveraging real-time data requires more than just new software; it requires a new way of working. Instead of viewing third-party property managers as isolated vendors, you can integrate them as true business partners. This collaboration can foster:

• A consistent application of accounting policies and operational procedures
• Improved communication and information exchange
• Enhanced business continuity and data security

The future of real estate is not just about property; it’s about data, agility, and adaptability. Organizations that can seamlessly blend technology, strategy, and execution will be positioned to lead—those who cannot will be left reacting to change, instead of shaping it.

Ready to build a more agile, data-driven real estate operation? Contact EisnerAmper using the form below to learn how we can help.