Commercial real estate data platforms have mostly been built for investment sales brokers. That is changing as developers, lenders, appraisers, property managers, and leasing brokers look for better ways to find opportunities in a tougher market.
Dan Mosher, co-founder and CEO of DealGround, an AI-powered commercial real estate intelligence platform, says those groups have been joining the platform at a steady pace. Mosher says the shift was expected, but it has picked up as more ownership, lease, and rent data has become available.
“We always knew that DealGround would end up being useful for almost all of the personas in the commercial real estate,” Mosher said.
Developers: Replacing Tenants
Developers are facing a specific problem right now. When a major tenant pulls out of a new project, the developer usually cannot sell the property until a replacement is signed. Mosher pointed to Starbucks’ recent decision to close roughly 250 stores, some of which were in development and being prepared for sale.
“All of a sudden now, the key tenant has pulled out and is not going forward anymore. And so now the developer is left to find a replacement tenant and get that tenant in place, most likely before they can sell that asset,” Mosher said.
Developers are also using property data earlier in the process, before they commit to a site.
“If they’re going to develop a property in a particular area, they can very quickly look in the radius around that target property and see what trade rents are in that area so that they can be better informed about what their downstream rent is going to be,” Mosher said.
From there, developers can check who owns a site they want to acquire, how to contact that owner, how the property is zoned, and which tenants are already nearby.
Lenders And Appraisers
Lenders are using property data to find refinancing opportunities. Instead of waiting for borrowers to come to them, they can search for properties with loans approaching maturity.
“Show me all of the properties in this area that have less than two years left on their loan or the loan is coming due. I want to pitch that owner to potentially refinance that loan,” Mosher said, describing how lenders search the platform.
Appraisers, who often need detailed information quickly when a building is being sold and a lender requires a valuation, are also finding value. “They can find data in DealGround that they can’t find in other systems,” Mosher said.
Investors And Property Managers
Investors have started doing their own sourcing rather than relying entirely on what brokers send them.
“They wanted to be more proactive about deciding which properties to go pursue. And they didn’t always want to listen to what the brokers sent them or what the brokers showed them,” Mosher said.
Third-party property managers use the same data to prospect. Mosher says they look for owners who recently bought a property and reach out to offer their management services.
Reaching Owners And Tenants
Mosher says leasing brokers, on both the tenant and landlord side, are the group that is growing the fastest.
“It’s such an excellent solution for them,” he said. “And now that we’ve added tenant contact data into the platform its only increased in value.”
Tenant rep brokers have long been able to look up property owners. A broker representing a restaurant chain, for example, can find the owner of a shopping center to ask about available space. Landlord rep brokers need the reverse.
“The landlord reps want to know who the tenant is and who the leader of the tenant is,” Mosher said.
DealGround has now added tenant contact information, including the name, phone number, and email of the tenant’s real estate lead, so landlord reps can reach the person responsible for site decisions.
For any commercial real estate professional deciding whether a data platform fits their role, the useful question is not who the tool was originally built for. It is whether it holds the specific data their job depends on. More on how different professionals use the platform is available on DealGround’s resources page.
About DealGround
DealGround is the AI-native intelligence command center built for how brokers actually work – turning property, tenant, ownership, and market data into faster, more informed deal decisions. To see it in action, request a demo at www.dealground.com.
This article is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. The views and opinions expressed herein reflect those of the individuals quoted and do not represent an endorsement of any company, product, or service mentioned. Readers should conduct their own due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any investment decisions.
Disclosure: Individuals or companies mentioned may have a commercial relationship with KeyCrew.
