Real Estate Analytics Strategy
If you are going to invest in analytics, you need a plan. Not having a strategy is like constructing a building without a blueprint.
A blueprint can be simple or complex depending on whether you are building a backyard shed or a mixed-use multi-story building. The same goes for your real estate analytics strategy. Below is the outline for a strategy document that arms all departments with metrics and dashboards.
The Analytics Strategy Document — 5 Sections
Vision
How data and analytics will drive your business over the next 1–3 years.
- ›Drivers / reasons for moving away from status quo
- ›Current State vs Future State
- ›Executive sponsor who is championing the change
Business Case
The costs and benefits for investing in analytics.
- ›Justification for the investment
- ›Technology, integration, implementation & training costs
- ›Benefits: better decisions, faster decisions, team productivity
- ›Cost of maintaining the status quo
Change Management Plan
How departments and roles will transition to new analytical processes.
- ›Identify whose interests are positively and negatively impacted
- ›Plan for addressing resistance and obtaining buy-in
- ›Training plan and post-go-live support
Analytics Roadmap
Capabilities and benefits to be delivered over the next 1–3 years.
- ›Each capability (Delinquency, GL Analytics, Collections, etc.) treated as a project
- ›Approximate start / end dates per capability
- ›Prioritized by business value and complexity
Technology Architecture
Technology components and how they work together.
- ›Visualization tools: Power BI, Tableau, Excel
- ›Data sources: PMS, CRM, Excel workbooks, Investment Portal
- ›Data extraction: API, DB backups, email exports
- ›Cloud vs on-premise storage, security & compliance
- ›Build vs Buy vs Subscribe decisions
Sample Analytics Roadmap
A real example of how companies sequence their analytics investments by value and complexity.
| Capability | Department | Business Value | Complexity | Start | Go Live |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Financial Close Streamlining | Finance | Medium | Low | 2021-Q2 | 2021-Q2 |
| Cash Flow Excel Consolidation | Asset Management | Medium | High | 2021-Q2 | 2021-Q3 |
| Budget vs Actual Visualization | Operations | High | Low | 2021-Q3 | 2021-Q3 |
| KPI Dashboard for Leasing | Operations | Medium | High | 2021-Q3 | 2022-Q1 |
| KPI Dashboard for Maintenance | Operations | Medium | Medium | 2021-Q3 | 2022-Q1 |
Appendix
Include a list of documents and links supporting the strategy — existing reports, technology vendor evaluations, competitive benchmarks, and any prior analytics investments already in place.
Are you building a backyard shed or a sophisticated analytics platform?
We can help you tailor the strategy to your goals and budget. Contact us to discuss your options.