The real estate industry continues growing faster than many sectors. According to Newmark, remote working has caused office space demand to sink – yet technology, life sciences, and medical retail are segments seeing expanded growth meaning an explosion of need in Class A – Industrial buildings. The need for a commercial real estate API continues growing.
This is due, in part, to more commercial real estate (CRE) investors seeking ‘smarter’ buildings. Tech use and adoption isn’t just on the rise – it’s here. What does this mean for commercial real estate agents and brokers? For software developers? As competition grows stiffer, commercial real estate APIs won’t be a nice-to-have – they’ll be the norm. These data APIs can save time and help you meet investors’ and buyers’ needs.
It Starts with One Thing – Data
Before we delve into APIs, you need to know what they’re made of – data. Property details and other real estate data are the building blocks of real estate APIs. The source of this data is your first objective before you begin development. Interested individuals searching your site or app are looking for specific types of information when they browse your real estate listings during a property search.
They might look for things like:
- Walk score
- Points of interest
- Median property value
- Crime rate
- Average lease length
- Lot size
- Parking
- Amenities
- City, state, or country
- Property owner information
So, where do you find that data? And how will you use it?
What is a Commercial Real Estate API?
Today’s internet-based world calls for robust data – it’s no different for the real estate industry. To create your own real estate API, you need a developer schooled in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. They can use algorithms that can interpret data sets quickly, providing increasingly accurate models. Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced agent, broker, or investor, this can seem like a long-distance race where the finish line is perpetually moved farther away. What if you could automate this data collection?
You can with an API.
So, what’s an API, exactly? The acronym stands for application program interface. It’s a tool used in software that’s basically a ‘translator’ of sorts. It takes data produced by one app and helps deliver it to another app. An API retrieves the requested information, packages it, and delivers it to the requesting application. This improves speed and creates a much more agile environment for associated programs.
Think of it like this:
You’re at your favorite restaurant. You basically know what you want, but you’re scouring the menu anyway. Your waitress is the API.
You’re the “app” that knows what food you want. The kitchen is the “app” that prepares that food.
The kitchen can’t prepare the food before it knows what you’re ordering, even if you’ve been there dozens of times. This is where your waitress API comes in. The waitress takes your order, alerts the kitchen which meal to prepare, and then delivers it when it’s ready.
How does this apply to commercial real estate? Consider CRE investors. They likely use the internet to search for investment properties. Just like the restaurant scenario, they’ve got several “food” options. They choose their potential market based on things like their budget or the investment property type they’re interested in. When they enter this information, they’re telling the “kitchen” what they want and asking to see if they have that in stock. The property API matches the request with available stock and returns the requested type of listings, whether the investor is looking for properties in the United States or elsewhere.
4 Reasons Why You Should Adopt a Commercial Real Estate API
Commercial real estate APIs are unique in the sense that they simplify the transfer of data. They’re the gatekeepers of property data and have rules for property listing retrieval. Using an API provides significant advantages. Some of the most important reasons why you should have a real estate API include:
- The processes used to retrieve information are housed in one tiny component
- Data retrieval is simplified
- Rather than coding to a database, information is coded to the CRE API
- Offers flexibility to software developers and real estate agents
Still not convinced?
How are you housing property data now? Are you copy/pasting listings from the MLS to your website or server?
Not only is this extremely time consuming, but you run such risks as:
- Incorrect information
- Increased hosting fees
- Compliance difficulties
Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t replicate data on your website – this can actually boost your SEO. But doing so for each listing you want to make available for prospects and clients simply isn’t feasible, can lead to listing incorrect pricing or other information, and overall costs more time and money in the long run.
Advantages of ProspectNow’s API
Every real estate transaction begins with the hunt. ProspectNow is the perfect Realtors’ property resource. There are various APIs you can add to your site, such as:
- Google Maps API
- Zillow API
- Restful API
The ProspectNow commercial real estate API key portal offers you the tools you need to set up our proprietary API for your prospects’ or clients’ use. Using our API Console, you can add all – or just a little – of our database information to your system. At the console, you’ll find API keys for practically anything someone might search for on your site, such as:
- National property search
- All MLS listings associated with a property
- All properties owned by a specific owner
- Owners’ email addresses
- Foreclosure history
ProspectNow has helped investors, brokers, and agents like you since 2008. Ready to find more leads, close more deals, and make more money?