July 20, 2022

CRC’s Ari Abramson Participates on NAA Panel Addressing Data Analytics

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Ari Abramson (third from left), Vice President of Acquisitions at Continental Realty Corporation (CRC), recently participated on a panel at the National Apartment Association’s Annual “Apartmentalize” meeting in San Diego, California, titled “The Multifamily Housing Data Checklist.” The session explored how investors, developers and property managers view non-traditional data sets to vet potential new investments, guide day-to-day operations and develop big-picture strategy.

Additional participants were (starting second from left) moderator Andrew Jenkins, Chief Product Officer at Markerr; Brad Dillman, Chief Economist at Cortland and Bob Hernandez, SVP at Carmel Partners. Also pictured far left is Galen Faurot-Pigeon, Research Analyst at Markerr and, far right, Erin Crapser, Chief Marketing Officer at Markerr. The panel discussed the challenges of data analytics and how to develop a strategic data checklist that can lead to better outcomes or improved operations.

Data is used for numerous things within the multifamily housing industry, including helping owners and operators better understand market trends to improve decision making. But in a world awash in data, it is often difficult to determine which metrics are truly important and indicate opportunities for growth or improvement. Some legacy metrics will always be around, but newer, nontraditional data sets have become invaluable.

Abramson discussed the various analytics platforms that CRC utilizes in its data-driven approach to formulating unique insights and setting a higher standard for real estate investment. “In addition to our deep market knowledge and relationships, which are essential to dealmaking and executing off-market transactions, CRC regularly leverages alternative data sources in our decision-making process,” Abramson stated. “This allows our team to fully understand a specific submarket’s employment, income, consumer spending, and demographic trends.”

He further explained that CRC continues to assess novel data sources for analyzing current and future rental rates as well as real-time submarket trends. “We believe the standard technology tool bench for real estate analytics may be based on stale or skewed data,” Abramson added. “To overcome this situation, we have adopted near real-time data feeds. For example, to assess income levels in a submarket, we rely on two-week old anonymized payroll data rather than economists’ projections from years-old census data. Our team regularly seeks out innovative methods of evaluating potential acquisition opportunities – we stay one step ahead on data and analytics,” he concluded.

Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and founded in 1960, CRC is a full-service commercial real estate and investment company focused on acquiring and operating retail and multifamily properties. The privately held firm owns and manages a diversified portfolio of retail centers consisting of more than six million square feet of commercial space and approximately 9,000 apartment homes across ten states, with a portfolio value exceeding $3.2 billion. For additional information, visit www.crcrealty.com.