Real estate tech tips: Useful market research websites

As commercial brokers, information is the key to our success. The ability to quickly gather and relay relevant market information is what will separate you from your peers and can be the difference maker in a deal. The ability to provide a pulse on the market to your client will lend credibility to your standing as a professional. While we may know our own neighborhood like the back of our hand in todays global market it is important that we have a go- to- source for information that exceeds your immediate boundaries. For the independent broker, and mid-market firms that are not equipped with their own in-house research department, there are a plethora of websites that provide market reports with relevant statistics and analytical tools. Well known international companies such as Colliers, Cushman and Wakefield, CB Richard Ellis, Marcus and Millichap and Grubb and Ellis provide detailed market studies which are readily accessible from their websites, albeit some do require a simple but quick registration process; a small price to pay for free information. These links are as follows: http://www.colliers.com/Corporate/MarketReports/ http://www.cushwake.com http://www.cbre.com/EN/Research/ http://www.grubb-ellis.com/research/ http://www.marcusmillichap.com/Services/Research/ I personally find these sites very helpful and have been able to intelligently discuss markets that I am not accustomed to dealing in which in turn have led to numerous successful "out-of-state" transactions. Keep in mind these reports are generally geared towards primary and secondary markets so anything past that might require some deeper digging. Further to the above, there are excellent web analytical and comparison tools that make for excellent studies of market trends in specific areas. Three such sites are: REIS (http://www.reis.com), Torto Wheaton Research (http://www.twr.com), actually owned by CB Richard Ellis, and Real Capital Analytics (http://www.rcanalytics.com), which was reported on in one of my earlier columns. I should mention that both these sites are paid subscription services. So for all you commercial real estate brokers, who are looking for that edge, be smart and use what's at your fingertips. Sound like a real pro and expand your horizon. Laurence Ross is a senior executive broker of the Platinum Team and co-founder of PropertyRover.com, New York, N.Y.