Whether it's investing, managing, purchasing, selling or leasing, information is key to operational success. Today's technology is helping those in-the-know to achieve successes by providing current and accurate data quickly to end users. Beginning with a multimillion-dollar investor seeking those tech firms, we look at some of those companies that are providing cutting-edge services for the real estate industry.
Funding Growth
The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), Sacramento, CA, recently established a $500 million investment program with an eye to capitalizing on the growing convergence of the technology and real estate industries.
"Our real estate staff has been looking to take advantage of technology opportunities," said spokesman Brad Pacheco.
The pension fund anticipates it will focus 25 percent of its funds in this program in technology firms or related entities. "Part of that is diversification and part of it is that we're uniquely positioned within the real estate population, especially venture capital firms," said Pacheco.
Its strategy is to generate a variety of investment opportunities such as forming strategic alliances with emerging companies, assembling real estate portfolios in technology markets like Silicon Valley, the Dulles Airport corridor in Virginia, Boston's Route 128 and Raleigh/Durham's Research Triangle, as well as providing real estate solutions to high- growth tenants as their strategic real estate partner and potentially equity investor.
The fund has already invested in technology companies, including last year's investment in PropertyFirst.com, Alhambra, CA. "We're behind dot-com companies...," said Pacheco.
Putting Property First
Nearly $2 billion of exclusively commercial property, representing 1,200 brokers, is listed on PropertyFirst.com each week. Launched in June 1999, and backed by investors such as CalPERS, this dot-com has had solid growth. It offers commercial property owners an outlet to showcase their properties through a multiple listing system, online marketing flyers, a buyer/seller matching tool, and more. Recently, PropertyFirst.com unveiled its Private Label system, which gives commercial real estate owners the ability to market their properties for sale or lease directly on their web site, freeing up time they might overwise spend creating their own online sale and lease system.
One of PropertyFirst.com's interesting features is its mapping and demographic tools that enable owners and brokers to make presentations using tailored maps, site and analysis, and customized demographics.
"Mapping and demographics is important to portfolio owners because they can plot their assets and competitors' locations on a map with selected demographics to determine their competitive advantages," said Tom G. Sanchez, senior vice president and chief technology officer.
For instance, a shopping center owner who operates three centers in San Diego, CA, and wants to develop or acquire a new center in the area can use this tool to locate competitors or pull demographics on populations, income, buying power and traffic.
"This can assist him in determining where to sell or buy based on the changing demographics," he said.
This information is also critical to those who may want to lease space in shopping centers.
"In retail," said Dan Bercu, vice president for lease product," this type of information is especially crucial where the right store, placed in the wrong location, can prove fatal for the merchant."
Rising IQ
In addition to providing commercial real estate data on its Manhattan hometown, RealtyIQ, formerly RE/ Locate, recently expanded its information services to include Greater Boston, Philadelphia and the suburbs and the outer boroughs of New York City, totaling 47 markets that account for a large percentage of the commercial marketplace on the East Coast.
"We track detailed information on office and industrial properties across the country," said Bruce Weissberg, CEO.
Using RealtyIQ, commercial property owners can access information on competitors' buildings, compare vacancy rates, and more. For instance, because RealtyIQ tracks leases, property owners will be able to follow the migration properties of businesses.
"Let's say you own a building in Bethesda, MD," explained Weissberg. "By looking at the migration trends, you might want to reposition your building to take advantage of sub-markets."
Wiring Merchants
Secure Internet services and a managed network are two of the features that MerchantWired, a full-service retail infrastructure that connects mall retailers with their home offices, business partners and customers, is rolling out nationwide.
Created by partnerships with Cicso System, Inc., IBM and Intermedia Communications on the technology side and The Macerich Company, The Rouse Company, Simon Property Group, Taubman Centers, Inc., Urban Shopping Centers, Inc., and Westfield America, Inc. on the real estate side, MerchantWired's infrastructure will help retailers better serve customers, lower inventory costs, and manage internal and external communications.
"When you look at the trends in retail, most retailers are trying to develop an integrated strategy between their web strategy and their stores," explained Jim Giuliano, III, president and CEO, MerchantWired, Indianapolis, IN. "To do that, they need enhanced technology and networking. [MerchantWired] will provide retailers with a high-speed, fully-managed, secure private network that will allow them to connect all of their stores in North America."
The network, which MerchantWired expects to install in 350 malls by November, will be managed around-the-clock to ensure retailer's success. And, looking ahead, MerchantWired expects to announce a program for community shopping center owners as well.
A Capital Idea
CapitalThinking, an online commercial mortgage marketplace, updated its web site to include a graphic mortgage calculator and access to instant rate quotes through Internet-enabled cellular telephones.
The calculator lets users connect with lenders and "see" the entire marketplace for a loan on one screen in graphic format that displays variables such as property type, interest rate, and mortgage payment terms.
"By using a cell phone with Internet access, lenders or borrowers can track their loans. They can go into their account and get the status of their transaction," explained Drew Anderman, managing director of the New York, NY, firm.
Bricks and Wire
Office building portal provider Brickwire, Boston, MA, is helping building owners, managers and tenants to connect through its building-centric portals that provide news and building and community information online.
"Brickwire's approach is one that focuses on two principal categories," said Kevin McCall, CEO.
One is the operation side and the other is providing benefits to occupants of the building. Its five components include an information center that provides building specific information such as the building's specifications and events that may be including in the building or the outside community; a maintenance repair and tracking system; a business products and services purchasing center that offers tenants pricing discounts; a concierge desk; and a community connection where tenants will find volunteer opportunities and the like.
"We think there are three things that make us different from others," said McCall. Those are matching technology with end users, providing strong, exciting and robust content to drive usership to the site and a strong understanding of relationship marketing, he noted.
Floored Software
With its computer aided design (CAD) software and Internet publishing expertise that integrates 2-D and 3-D digital photos with audio, video and digital files, Space-Wise Technologies, Inc., Woodbridge, CT, can assist property owners in displaying their building's site or floor plans online. That information can be used for marketing, documentation, and construction management.
"We organize all the building's files using its floor plan and placing icons in pertinent spots where a user can click on them and be linked to more information about that building and space," said Jonathan Gorham, CEO.
Its proprietary software products and support services can assist owners in having a sophisticated Internet presence, offering comprehensive property data in digestible bytes, 24- hour/7-day response, and changing data quickly as properties sell or lease.
