What Does Big Data mean to you, The Real Estate Consumer?

Lately, the word “data” is being passed around like the flu.  Our world revolves around the collection of data and what we are able to do with it to help our daily lives.  According to Wikipedia (I know, don’t kill me for the source):

Data is a set of values of subjects with respect to qualitative or quantitative variables.

Data and information or knowledge are often used interchangeably; however data becomes information when it is viewed in context or in post-analysis. While the concept of data is commonly associated with scientific research, data is collected by a huge range of organizations and institutions, including businesses (e.g., sales data, revenue, profits, stock price), governments (e.g., crime rates, unemployment rates, literacy rates) and non-governmental organizations (e.g., censuses of the number of homeless people by non-profit organizations).

….yada, yada, yada

So data is being collected in every which way you can imagine but it needs to be analyzed correctly and efficiently, in order to help us make big decisions.

Let’s start with What exactly is Big Data?

I love this video by The World Economic Forum which can be helpful and scary at the same time.

 

More simply put and beautifully explained by SAS US, 

Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis. But it’s not the amount of data that’s important. It’s what organizations do with the data that matters. Big data can be analyzed for insights that lead to better decisions and strategic business moves.

Big Data and Real Estate

So let me repeat:  It’s not the amount of data that’s important, it’s what we do with the data that matters!

As a real estate consumer you have easy access to information about real estate and even portals that provide generalized data about market conditions.  You have portals that use artificial intelligence to estimate the value of your home, commute times to work from different locations, even generalized market reports.  What’s important to note is not only the fact that real estate is local in nature, but it’s also a relationship business.  Generalized data is great, but not when you are ready to spend money.

As much as machines make processes easier and more efficient, there is an important truth that we cannot turn our backs to.  The careful analysis of big data is key for making educated decisions and the more you can bring that big data into micro levels, the better this will help you as a real estate consumer.

Better Decisions and Strategic Business Moves

I am telling you all this because I have chosen to align myself with a brokerage that is doing what no other has done.  Avanti Way Realty prides itself in the analysis of data, at a micro level, in order to help you make better decisions about buying and selling real estate. 

Knowing what the average price per square foot in an area is no longer good enough. Knowing what a home is selling based on bedrooms, square footage, lot size, year built, direction, and even average discounts in area, are crucial to both price and negotiate.

We can provide neighborhood benchmarks, where buyers are coming from and use predictive analytics to market your property.  Our years of blanket marketing are over and we can now use big data to be really smart about marketing and negotiating.

In this world of technology, it’s key to work with people that know how to help you reach your goals.  I’m super excited about what we are doing and what’s to come.  Call us if you are interested in knowing how we work.