by Morgan Dzak

The role of data in the modern multifamily housing investment process is pivotal. While some legacy metrics will always be accessible, a greater number of real estate investors are turning to nontraditional data points to gain a competitive advantage. Nontraditional data points help investors increase their returns on their multifamily transactions and provide a leg up when it comes to winning those hard-earned deals.

“What it comes down to is thinking about what the world around us is doing,” said Brad Dillman, Chief Economist at Cortland, a global multifamily investment, development and management firm. “Real estate firms very often focus just on their own operations. The reality is a lot of what determines the course  of a real estate investment is macro-cyclical and it has more to do with what’s going on beyond what is in our own control as a firm.”

Multifamily operators and investors are discovering and using nontraditional data points to discover opportunities in lesser-known submarkets, secure higher risk-adjusted returns and maximize portfolio value. Here are some of the ways nontraditional data is helping operators and investors outperform their competitors.

Read Morgan Dzak’s article in UNITS Magazine.