RPR's Data Partners: Your Secret Weapon in Commercial Real Estate
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) offers commercial real estate practitioners a wealth of listing and property data, plus access to an array of analytical and ROI-focused tools. With over 800K listings, 57 million off-market property records, site selection tools, consumer demographic research, trade area data, traffic counts, POIs (points of interest) and more, RPR Commercial is basically a one-stop-shop for all things CRE. However, one question we hear over and over is: where does RPR get all of this commercial data and information? As an aggregator of data and resources, RPR is the ultimate commercial hub for REALTORS® to conduct commercial real estate business. In this article, we'll present our impressive list of commercial partners by what category they fall under and how our partnership can help you in your daily commercial duties. RPR Commercial partnerships can help power your business RPR has collabs, partnerships and affiliations with some of the biggest names in commercial real estate. Here's a list, by category: For Sale/For Lease Data Partners Brevitas: Brevitas is a national commercial listing platform that is integrated into RPR. Their real estate marketplace provides REALTORS® a turn-key marketing solution and an instant competitive edge by offering a robust collection of property search and marketing tools. CREXi: CREXi offers a database of commercial listings, including more than 48 million property records. It also provides RPR with daily updated data, which helps commercial real estate professionals quickly manage deals and close them faster. TotalCommercial: TotalCommercial.com has been providing commercial real estate listing information online since 1995. TotalCommercial.com shares its listing information through RPR to offer REALTORS® more listings and more property research resources. Land Broker MLS: LandBrokerMLS.com was formed in 2018 by real estate brokers and agents to assist rural real estate professionals in their ability to view land listings. LandBrokerMLS contributes listing data to RPR's commercial platform. Biproxi: Biproxi's new public marketplace is called Officespace.com and it provides powerful listing capabilities for "for sale" and "for lease" properties. Biproxi's Officespace.com provides listing information for RPR's commercial real estate users. Catylist: Moody's Analytics Catylist offers a commercial property listing and marketing solution to numerous REALTOR® associations and CIEs (Commercial Information Exchanges). It helps RPR receive licensed commercial listing content from many markets across the country. CompStak: CompStak is a nationwide crowdsourced commercial comp database that offers RPR users to receive 500 free credits to search and share commercial comparables. Get started by clicking on the CompStak logo in the Additional Resources section of any RPR commercial property page. Officespace.com: See BiProxi above. ICSC: ICSC, The International Council of Shopping Centers, has a special agreement with RPR to offer retail and commercial real estate data, which contributes significant insight relevant to the shopping center industry and broader commercial sectors. Off-Market Properties Black Knight: Black Knight is the backbone of RPR property data. It provides RPR users with quick access to public records including tax details, zoning, ownership information down to the corporate level, and much more, including Assessment and Recorder datasets. Site Selection Data Esri: Esri is RPR's main source of consumer data. It supplies RPR with economic, demographic, and spending data, as well as tapestry segment profiles. This particular data fuels RPR analytical tools such as Trade Area Reports and Site Selection Analysis. Financial Analysis Valuate: Valuate® is a web-based financial analysis and marketing tool for the purchase and sale of commercial and residential investment properties. From RPR, users can easily access the platform to perform real-time, interactive ROI analyses in a collaborative work environment. Traffic Counts Kalibrate: Kalibrate powers the traffic counts found on RPR's commercial maps. They provide this data quarterly from various sources, including governments, transportation departments, and Kalibrate's own field verifications. Tenant Data SMR Research: SMR works with RPR to provide a proprietary database of 25 million U.S. companies, schools, and other institutions for commercial property insights, and the data is updated quarterly. ClimateRisk Assessment and Mitigation Climate Check: ClimateCheck®, available in the RPR "Additional Resources" section, offers an assessment of a property's climate risk. It will rate a property's future risk of climate change-related hazards and assign a rating from 1 to 100, with 100 representing the highest risk. Risk Factor: Also available in the RPR "Additional Resources," Risk Factor provides climate and environmental risk data for real estate properties, helping REALTORS® understand and communicate potential risks related to climate change. Existing Businesses (POIs – Points of Interest) Data Axle: Known for its robust business databases, Data Axle provides detailed company profiles and other commercial real estate-related data to enhance the commercial offerings on RPR. Esri: Supplies RPR with economic, demographic, and spending data, as well as tapestry segment profiles. RPR: Commercial listings, data and tools–all under one roof As you can see, RPR brings a vast amount of commercial resources and data and puts them all in one place so you can search listings, conduct research and tap into resources that help your clients make data-backed decisions. And if you're a REALTOR®, there's no extra charge to use as part of your membership in The National Association of REALTORS®. However, if our impressive list of commercial partnerships doesn't convince you, listen to what Dave Ferro, Managing Broker and Vice President of Watson Realty Corp in Gainesville, Florida, has to say about RPR Commercial: "I go to RPR Commercial to save time and simplify. That perfectly sums it up for me. I don't have to go to each individual's website for listing info. I can see all my properties and deals in one location. It's such a great place to search, every commercial agent should try it." To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

C5 Event Promotes Collaboration Among Tech Companies to Create a More Efficient Industry
The NAR-sponsored C5 + CCIM Global Summit is billed as "3 Days of Commercial Real Estate Networking, Learning, and Deal-Making." If you're curious, the five Cs stand for "Capital," "Connect," "Commerce," "Community" and "Commercial." It took place in Atlanta on September 28th-30th, and it is one of commercial real estate's premier conferences. The event was attended by some key members of RPR's Commercial and Member Experience team who brought back some insightful takeaways on data and tech as it relates to commercial real estate. We thought that commercial practitioners who use RPR (Realtors Property Resource) would appreciate a summary of the technology-focused panel and some of the topics that were discussed. Collaboration and listening: Transforming the commercial real estate industry The commercial real estate industry has long been plagued by fragmentation, complexity, and inefficiency. Historically, it has been disjointed due to a variety of reasons, such as fragmented ownership, diverse property types, and a lack of standardization. However, there's a growing effort to change this narrative and make the commercial real estate sector more accessible, efficient and cohesive. This transformation is being driven by advances in technology, data transparency and collaboration among industry players. A great example of this was the C5 Tech Panel, where a panel of experts got together on the main stage to showcase a real-life case study of how collaboration and listening can lead to positive change in the commercial real estate industry. More specifically, this session highlighted RPR, ICSC and CompStak's efforts to deliver value together producing accurate, easy-to-use technology for commercial practitioners. The panel included individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences including: Valerie Richardson, the COO of ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers). Valerie brought a wealth of experience to the panel, as evidenced by her experience with well-known brands including the Trammell Crow Company, Ann Taylor, Barnes & Noble and The Container Store. Michael Mandel, the CEO and Co-Founder of CompStak. The company was born out of Michael's experience as a commercial leasing broker in Manhattan, and he was recognized as Grubb & Ellis' National Rookie of the Year in 2007. Emily Line, SVP of Strategic Engagement, is a pioneer at RPR Commercial, and she has been instrumental in shaping the platform from its concept to present-day. She's accomplished this by focusing on strategy, usability testing, and outreach to enhance the value and experience for commercial members. Moderator Deena Zimmerman is a Principal/Broker at Baum Realty Group, LLC. Deena is a top-producing Retail Tenant Rep and a 2024 NAR Commercial Liaison. She recently moved from SVN Chicago to Baum Realty in Chicago to build on her success as the "Retail Queen." Tech panel takeaways The overarching theme of the panel was to show the need for collaboration and listening to create a stronger, less fragmented and more efficient commercial real estate industry. And yes! This committed collaboration included talk about product deliverables with the use of the hot topics: Chat GPT and AI. The panelists demonstrated that by working together and understanding the unique needs of commercial practitioners, significant improvements can be achieved. Valerie's experience underscored the importance of understanding the challenges faced by practitioners. She offered insight from The Container Store, a retail giant, and stressed the significance of accessible space and market information for ICSC members. Michael's journey led to the creation of CompStak, addressing the need for accurate leasing comps. His experience highlighted the value of integrity and precision in data. Deena Zimmerman, as an active practitioner, offered a real-world perspective on how a more streamlined industry workflow can enhance efficiency and client relationships. Emily's role at RPR emphasized the importance of user-driven technology. Her efforts in collaborating with entities like CompStak and ICSC aimed to bridge gaps and provide the right data and partnerships for commercial practitioners. In Conclusion The commercial real estate industry has recognized its historical challenges and is actively working towards overcoming them. Collaborative efforts, data transparency and a commitment to understanding the needs of industry professionals are driving the sector toward a more cohesive and efficient future. By focusing on collaboration and listening, the industry is breaking down the barriers that have historically made it disjointed. As these changes take hold, commercial real estate is poised to become a more accessible and dynamic field for investors, brokers and all stakeholders involved. For more information on NAR and RPR's commercial real estate growth and support efforts, check out: 4 Pillars of Support for Commercial Real Estate Pros. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog. Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology!

RPR's Commercial Trade Area Page Gets an Upgrade
Thank you to RPR for sponsoring this article on RE Technology: At RPR® (Realtors Property Resource®), we're always striving to improve the look, feel and functionality of our platform. From minor fixes to major redesigns, we take every opportunity to elevate the RPR user experience to ensure that REALTORS® are as productive and proficient as possible. With our latest release, we've made some design improvements to the Commercial Trade Area section. It's the same detailed data and information, but now it's presented in a much more eye-pleasing format. (For details and a quick refresher about Trade Area Information within an RPR Commercial property search, check out this article: RPR Commercial: Trade Area Reports.) Updated Trade Area look and feel To see the new Trade Area Information page, log into RPR, and set the toggle for Commercial. Now conduct an area or property specific search, and click on the results. You'll be presented with the Property Information page. Next, click on Trade Area in the navigation bar. In the Trade Area section, you're given key economic indicators and information about people who live in the nearby area. Demographic stats on the population and Consumer Segmentation group breakdowns can give commercial agents a bird's eye view of the spending potential a location offers a commercial business owner or investor. And now that information is much easier to digest… Here's the previous version of the Trade Area Information page: And here's the new version! As you can see, the data and the information remains the same, but the layout has been enhanced. The previous Key Details, such as Median Household Income, Median Age, Total Population and 1st Dominant Segment, are now viewable on the left side of the page, in colorful, easy-to-read tiles. The right side of the page includes a larger, interactive map of the area that users can expand, collapse, or tap into for additional information and to apply data-rich layers. More design improvements for a more streamlined workflow Two other areas have also received subtle, yet noticeable facelifts. Here's the "before" of the Consumer Segmentation section: And here's the new and improved version: And finally, here we see the previous Demographic Facts and Stats: The redesigned page now looks like this: Trading up! RPR's Commercial Trade Area pages and visuals are looking better than ever! One of the definitions of good design is taking words and information and presenting it in a simple, easy to understand way. We hope we've achieved that for you with these refreshed designs. Be sure to take advantage of Trade Area research and analysis when advising your commercial clients. Check it out for yourself by searching a Trade Area; use the link to take a guided tour and get familiar with the workflow. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Turning the Tables: New Data Sets Come to RPR Commercial
RPR® (Realtors Property Resource®) offers commercial practitioners a wealth of data and tools, including access to over 850K commercial listings and 56 million off-market properties — plus consumer data insights, site selection and mapping tools, Trade Area Reports, POIs, traffic count data, and the list goes on. But you know what? There's always room for more! We're bringing even more data sets to the commercial side of our platform. RPR is committed to empowering REALTORS® with comprehensive, accurate and current data — a commitment that has helped drive the recent enhancements to RPR Commercial. These data additions are tailored to not only streamline your decision-making process, but also give you an edge in this increasingly competitive market. Navigate the New: RPR's Commercial Data Enhancements Beginning with the Summary section, you'll now have even more data points to peruse, including the type of property and zoning to its cap rate, building size and building name. Having this data at your fingertips makes analysis and comparisons much simpler. We have also added more details to the Basic Facts and Owner Facts sections. Here, you will find critical details like general use, property use, multi-parcel property information, contact names and titles among other primary considerations. The Legal Description section now includes a new field — FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) Parcel Number — that adds another layer of identification for each property. And Building Sq. Ft. has been added into the Property Features section. Detailed Data at Your Disposal And then there's our all-new Financial Details section. You'll find the Adjusted Property Value provides you a clearer view of the real market value of a property, as it considers various factors in its valuation. The information about Multi Parcel Loans attached to the property is also quite helpful when analyzing investment opportunities. We've also added fields such as Estimated Property Change, Current Owner and MTG Risk Score to offer insights into the potential appreciation or depreciation of a property and its associated mortgage risk. Amid today's dynamic financial landscape, these details can serve as important decision-making tools. Also included is Number of Refis or Equity Loans, New Applicant Underwriting Score and Default History. These data points bring greater transparency to a property's lending histories. The Property Use Reliability Score lets you gauge how consistent a property has been in terms of its purpose — another compelling factor for buyers. Lastly, the new data sets includes Last Major Renovation details along with risk metrics such as Financial Risk Score, Property Use Risk Score and Local Area Credit Risk Score. These help give an overall view into different areas of potential risks surrounding a commercial property. Together, these additional data points take you beyond basic facts and building features into more granular financial details. We're confident that this new data will offer a bigger picture and more comprehensive insight into the true value and potential risks each commercial property holds. RPR's Commercial goal: That more data translates into more deals So what are you waiting for? Harness the power of these new data enhancements, delve deeper into each property's worth, and make confident decisions that will help elevate your profession and your bottom line. RPR is here for you — driving innovation in real estate so you can continuously elevate your service, and meet your clients' needs. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Commercial: Traffic Data You Can Count On
When it comes to advising commercial real estate investors and business owners on site selection, it's a smart move to factor in traffic count data. In this article, we'll show you how RPR (Realtors Property Resource) provides easy access to traffic data to help you crunch those numbers, gauge potential and guide your clients to optimal locations. The RPR-Kalibrate data partnership can really benefit a business Through its partnership with Kalibrate, RPR Commercial offers comprehensive traffic count data to help REALTORS® make informed decisions when assisting clients in site selection. Providing valuable traffic count insight into the potential footfall (the number of people entering a store or shopping area in a given time) and site visibility can be make or break for a new business. The more people who see a business or are exposed to its signage, the more likely they are to visit! Although counting cars and commuters, and determining annual average daily traffic is not a new idea, many commercial specialists don't utilize the data to properly advise their clients. Here's how to do it in RPR. Accessing Traffic Count Data in RPR Commercial Log in to RPR (narrpr.com) Select Research, and then Commercial Map Insights Enter a geographic area or zip code or specific address Select Driving (the car icon to the right) and then Traffic Counts Choose the range, or simply chose Select All and Apply Customize the view by zooming in or out and toggling traffic count layers The traffic data will appear on the map in different colored triangles Click on specific count points (the triangles) to view the detailed traffic data Accessing Traffic Count Data in RPR Commercial Now that we know how to access traffic count data, let's spend a little time on the why. Obviously, the more cars that drive by a business, the better the chances for success. Using this info as a site selection analysis tool can help you and your client(s) in: Assessing footfall and visibility potential Identifying prime locations for specific business types Analyzing trends in traffic flow (morning commutes vs weekend) Aiding in the decision-making process for clients Assessing historical data to track growth Design better delivery routes, if applicable Speaking of visibility from bullet number one, here's a real world example: perhaps you're familiar with the TV show Bar Rescue, where hospitality consultant Jon Taffer gives bars and restaurants a complete remodel and rebranding. He also often makes it a point to give their signage a facelift, and regularly quotes traffic count data in his reasoning. If 10,000 cars go by each day, they need to be able to see and read your business signage. As a commercial retail specialist with access to RPR, you too can make these recommendations! Map out your commercial recommendations with RPR traffic counts With the powerful data layers in RPR's Commercial maps, you can supply your clients with accurate and up-to-date traffic count information. The data will display actual historical counts as well as Kalibrate's projected counts, which are based on the last published traffic count, local area trend data and up-to-date demographic information. We encourage you to do a search and take our map Driving icon for a spin! This can be a helpful way to give retail businesses an idea of how many people will drive by their business each day and position you as an insightful business advisor. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Coldwell Banker Commercial Launches New Website
Coldwell Banker Commercial announced the launch of their all-new website, www.cbcworldwide.com. The new website introduces new ways for commercial real estate users and investors to search for property, and introduces a new experience for Coldwell Banker Commercial clients and affiliated professionals as they work on transactions. The new search features and tools are housed within an easy to navigate user experience. "The new Coldwell Banker Commercial website reflects the future of the company and completes our global rebrand," said David Marine, chief marketing officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial. "We developed this site with the goal of creating a seamless suite of tools that will connect our professionals and allow them to deliver value with just a few clicks. Since our founding in 1906, we have been at the forefront of the commercial real estate industry and with the launch of this new website, we will reaffirm our leadership position." The new site aims to educate and reinforce the differentiating qualities of the Coldwell Banker Commercial brand. Exclusive to the Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliated brokers and professionals, the new site will offer seamless accessibility and customization, allowing these individuals to provide the best possible service to their clients. Highlights include a personalized dashboard that will allow for lead capture and direct communication in a private deal room, analytics on one's individual listing(s) as well as the ability to edit listings directly on the website. Clients and individuals will also have an enhanced visitor experience. They will be able to create their own accounts on the website and setup specific search alerts and notifications based on property type, geographic area and/or industry and interact directly through the website with the Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliated professionals. "The Coldwell Banker Commercial brand has always been a leader in real estate, we have been pathfinders since 1906," said Dan Spiegel, SIOR, senior vice president and managing director, Coldwell Banker Commercial. "We will do whatever it takes to ensure that Coldwell Banker Commercial affiliated professionals have access to innovative tools and technology to create exceptional experiences for their clients. Our new website enables our highly collaborative community of professionals to work together with each other and their clients, because when we work together, we win together." In addition, the site will feature an updated news section called Viewpoints, where the brand publishes market outlook reports and articles about trending CRE topics, as well as host the brand's popular podcast – CRE with CBC Worldwide, the Coldwell Banker Commercial Podcast. For more information, visit www.cbcworldwide.com. Watch a video that highlights the new website's key features below:

Multi-Family ROI Analysis in RPR Commercial
RPR (Realtors Property Resources) offers commercial practitioners access to an array of business-building tools: Site Selection and Trade Area Reports that utilize Esri consumer segmentation data, and recently added commercial comps from CompStak. Not to mention 846K listings, 57 million off-market properties, traffic data, points of interest and climate risk assessment. However, one capability is flying a bit under the radar: BOTE (back of the envelope) ROI analysis for multi-family properties. This helpful resource enables commercial specialists to quickly vet and qualify multi-family investment opportunities before undertaking a full, detailed analysis. The ability to evaluate a project's potential in minutes rather than hours is a time-saving, efficient move. Here's how to do it in RPR… RPR BOTE: Back of the envelope ballparking and guesstimating Before we dive into the walkthrough, and in case you're not familiar with the term, here's the definition of Back of the envelope: a rough calculation, typically jotted down on any available scrap of paper such as an envelope. It is more than a guess, but less than an accurate calculation or mathematical proof. It's basically a ballpark figure, based on some starting numbers, that when run through a quick formula, lets agents and investors know if a project or purchase is worth the investment. To find the BOTE assessment calculator in RPR, go to the site, toggle to Commercial, and search for a property. Once you have your property, you will see the commercial Property Details and Property Information for that address. Scroll down a bit to find the Additional Resources section on the right hand side of the page. Then click Valuate® to Analyze investment potential, and then the continue button. An RPR/Valuate®/BOTE walkthrough The numbers for your potential deal are actually crunched using Valuate®, one of RPR's service and data partners. Note: When clicking over to the Valuate® site, you are leaving RPR and accessing Valutate® as a third party additional resource. Therefore, there is an important disclaimer that Valuate® is provided as a free benefit to RPR users. RPR is not responsible for information or conclusions that may be reached using the tool. Also note that RPR passes through to Valuate® only the data needed to perform this analysis. Once you're in Valuate®, you can assess a commercial investment in land development for multi-family dwellings or buildings. To get to the back of the envelope calculators, you will want to hover over the File tab, then the option of New, and finally click on BOTE, which stands for Back of the Envelope. There are multiple options for you to choose from, including Office, Apartment, Condo and Industrial Developments. The quick load screen will change slightly based on your selection, but they all function the same way. Make your choice based on your chosen property, then enter in the property name, scenario, and basic details of the development, such as the number of units, square footage, income and expenses from the property, etc. Be sure to plug in any areas necessary. Then select Submit. Back of the envelope calculator You'll be redirected to the calculator where you can fill in the rest of your assumptions. Build out your timelines, use of funds, project cash flows, as well as expenses, and ultimately determine what the current stabilized Net Operating Income Yield on Cost is for your potential development. The analysis also reveals the cap rate, and the cash on cash rate. (You typically want your cash on cash rate to be higher than your cap rate.) You can play with the numbers to find out where your purchase price needs to be to get right side up on your deal, etc. If you want to take it to the next step, you can also look at profit ratios should you sell this development project once it is fully leased and is creating a stable cash flow by filling in the fields in the Analysis for Sale upon stabilization section with your projections. BOTE note Quick back of the envelope run throughs are great for preliminary research and opportunity quests. You can basically rule out a potential investment before you commit too much brain power to a more thorough analysis or a fully developed pitch to an investor. Take advantage of RPR Commercial and its partnership with Valuate® by plugging in some rough estimates to see if your multi-family property opportunity gets a thumbs up or a thumbs down. And if you have time, watch this video for a demonstration: Investment Analysis With Valuate®. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How RPR's Commercial Data Partners Stack Up
846K listings. 57 million off-market properties. Site Selection tools. Trade Area Reports. Consumer segmentation demographics and data. Commercial comps. ROI and investment analysis. Traffic assessments, points of interest and climate risk assessment. And so much more… Where does a REALTOR® find all these commercial capabilities in one address? It's RPR® (Realtors Property Resource®). RPR is a data aggregator, boasting an impressive list of commercial data partners that make it a one-stop-shop platform for REALTORS®. RPR partners with the industry's premier sources to offer commercial practitioners access to an unparalleled amount of data and analytics. A total number of sources that no individual real estate agent or broker could realistically subscribe to and use to help their clients achieve their goals. As you can see in the visual below, RPR's commercial data partners are a collection of industry heavy weights that mean business–and can have quite the positive effect on yours. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR's Best Commercial Real Estate Articles of 2022
RPR (Realtors Property Resource®) is taking a look back at the past year to give our users a top line of 2022's most popular, most read and most informative articles and interviews. RPR Commercial had numerous posts on a variety of topics, all designed to help commercial practitioners be more efficient and make more trips to the closing table. Be sure to check out all of our helpful content for RPR Commercial users, but if you're pressed for time, here's our top five articles for the year: our data integration with CompStak, how to conduct quick, simple property searches in RPR, and how to use Parcel Overlays for prospecting and gathering listing intel. Happy New Year! We'll see you in 2023 with plenty of more tips, news, announcements, solid strategies and helpful ideas. 5. RPR Commercial: A Simple and Solid Way to Search for Properties RPR offers simple, right to the point property and land searches that make commercial workflows more efficient and more productive. 4. RPR Commercial: Parcel Overlays The parcel overlay map feature found in the RPR Mobile app can help you research and gather commercial property information, right from your phone. 3. RPR Integrates with CompStak to Deliver a Deal-Making Commercial Tool RPR is now integrated with CompStak, a commercial property comp and data exchange platform. 2. REALTOR® Sees RPR Commercial as a 'Game Changer' Based on the Size of His Market Even in a smaller market, RPR Commercial helps REALTOR® Dave Ferro search for properties and create professional reports to help his business expand and flourish. 1. RPR Launches a New Commercial Property Details Page RPR Commercial has launched a redesigned version of its Property Details page. They're more intuitive, perform faster and require less scrolling and clicking. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

C5 Summary: How RPR Commercial Is Scoring 10s for Its Simplicity
This month's RPR Commercial update is a Q&A style chat with Emily Line, RPR's VP of Member Experience. Emily recently attended the NAR-sponsored C5 Summit. Billed as "3 Days of Commercial Real Estate Networking, Learning, & Deal-Making," the C5 is one of commercial estate's premier events. Held in New York City from August 15-17, the event encouraged leaders, stakeholders and potential partners to engage, build relationships and network with like-minded influential leaders and decision makers in the commercial real estate space. As a guest on the main stage panel for commercial real estate tech, Emily shares her experiences and takeaways from the event, from a uniquely RPR user and commercial practitioner perspective. Q. Hello Emily, thanks for giving us a recap of the C5 show. What was the name of the panel you were on? EL: It was called "New Tools for Getting Deals Done," and it was a great opportunity to represent RPR Commercial. Q. What kind of questions were you asked? EL: After a quick introduction, they hit me with "What keeps you up at night?" Q. Great ice breaker! EL: Right?! So of course I said, "Will my beloved Michigan Wolverines make it back to the playoffs?!" (For the record, Emily is a rabid and die-hard Michigan fan, who travels from Southern California to Michigan for most of the home football games.) My real answer was the number 70. The number 70 keeps me up at night because that is RPR's current Net Promoter Score for commercial users/members who use RPR. Q. Please explain what an NPS is and why 70 is a good number and not average… EL: Exactly. NPS is a proven metric that has transformed the business world and is by far the most effective way to measure satisfaction and loyalty. Brands with high retention are companies with a high NPS score. (For reference, Apple scores a 47 NPS, which is considered very good.) An NPS of 70 means our members love us and thankfully we generate a lot of positive word-of-mouth as a result. So why does this keep me up at night? I never want the score to dip, not even a point! At RPR, we continue to grind in order to keep up with the word-of-mouth and our satisfaction rating. We do not take our foot off the gas when it comes to monitoring the application, documenting training questions that arise, listening to call center concerns, and slotting enhancements. We want RPR users to be productive, efficient and we want to help them close deals. And, of course, we don't want to lose the member lovefest! Q. Spot on! Any other good tech angles covered at C5? EL: This came up: "Is technology going to replace the role of the commercial real estate practitioner in the future?" I see it like this: those who elect not to validate their expertise with data will be left behind because clients are informed and expect support to back the direction. Technology is a validation station in many regards that supports top notch expertise, and serves as a guide for clients to ensure their position. Technology is not a replacement for the professional, but it is a big enchantment. However… Q. I feel a flip side coming on… EL: Right! More of a bonus side, really. Now that I covered the importance of the CRE practitioner's position to remain successful in a world filled with tech and data support, I should also note that CRE practitioners do have a voice to shape the technology. That means participating in usability testing and offering feedback so the tech is easy to use and lessens their pain points. Good technologists lead with their users' needs: the design is straightforward and there shouldn't be too many steps. It's all about simplifying. This way, CRE practitioners can grab the info needed to validate a deal's viability for a client, without investing too much time and effort. Based on my experience with many CRE practitioners, the biggest reason, besides cost, for avoiding tech is that it drains time and causes fatigue when trying to learn how to use technology. When an application is difficult to use, the CRE practitioner simply quits trying. Q. Any questions about RPR Commercial, specifically? EL: Someone asked about "wins" in relation to the RPR platform. I mentioned the book, Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug. It's a great read about human–computer interaction and web usability. The book's premise is that a good software program or website should let users accomplish their intended tasks as easily and directly as possible. Well, I'd say RPR's "W" is that after the redesign and relaunch of our website, 75%-plus of our users think RPR is easy to use, which is a badge of honor to Steve Krug's premise. Our recent refresh of the site stayed hyper-focused on existing strengths and features that were well received when they were discovered in testing. So our lesson learned when we studied commercial users in RPR was the realization that key features were being missed by commercial users because of their location or as a result of having too many steps. For example, when we better incorporated trade area data and mapping layers into the commercial member's journey, we started getting success stories back about winning more clients, and investors reaching out about other areas of the country because of the quick visuals. We even had feedback that EDCs (Economic Development Councils) were asking REALTORS® for economic area reports to aid in community business growth. And, of course, I never get tired of hearing, "RPR is my No. 1 go-to!" Great insight, Emily. Thanks for the feedback and your take on the C5 tech panel. If you haven't tapped into RPR Commercial lately, now's the time. A whole suite of easy-to-use tools and simple property searches will make you a fan, too. If you want to learn even more, try one of our free commercial webinars. Save your seat today! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Commercial: A Simple and Solid way to Search for Properties
In two recent RPR (Realtors Property Resource) Q&A articles with commercial practitioners, we noticed a theme: simplicity. Here's what Dave Ferro and Stephen J B Davis had to say about NAR's commercial property data platform: RPR really simplifies my search. I go to RPR Commercial to save time and simplify. – Dave Ferro, REALTOR®, Watson Realty Corp. REALTORS®, Gainesville, Florida I use RPR because it's really simple for getting solid info on a particular area. It's just so easy to get super specific data! Right down to the zip code and neighborhood level. – Stephen J B Davis, REALTOR®, SJBD Land and Homes at Keller Williams Bluegrass Successful commercial agents like Dave and Stephen know that RPR Commercial is a one-stop-shop for listings and research. In fact, RPR makes it possible for users to see on-market and off-market properties in one place—no matter which listing partner they use. Strategic listing and data partnerships RPR has worked diligently to bring everything a commercial practitioner needs to one central spot. Streamlining workflows, giving easy access to data and providing useful commercial tools in one hub can certainly work to your advantage and make you more efficient and productive. And having big league data partners goes a long way in making all of the above happen. RPR's partnerships with Biproxi, Brevitas, Crexi, Land Broker MLS, Officespace.com and TotalCommercial.com, to name a few, let you search more than 864K+ active commercial listings. For prospecting, RPR offers 56 million off-market properties around the country, which includes owner info for easy contact opportunities. Plus, strategic data and software integrations with Valuate® for calculating the return on investment, and Esri for rich economic and demographic statistics. Here's how to get started with your simplified search tool… RPR: your simplified commercial search tool First, visit RPR at www.narrpr.com and set the toggle to "Commercial" and begin your property search by entering a specific address, APN, or listing ID in the location field to go directly to the property. If you're searching by multiple APNs or Listing IDs at one time, use a semicolon to separate each. In this case, you'll be taken to search results displaying each property. You may also find that using the Commercial Map Insights found by selecting "Research" from the main navigation is a good way to look for land. Search areas vs. specific addresses You can also search for properties in a general area. To do that, you'll need to make sure that you have the correct "Filters" set. RPR will remember your last filter setting, but it's a good idea to make sure they're still set properly before beginning your search. You can also quickly remove previously set Filters by selecting the More Filters icon (you'll see it in the upper right navigation menu) and then the Reset button. Next, enter a neighborhood, ZIP code, city or other defined geography into the location field. As you type, RPR will auto suggest results, based on the location nearest to you. If you select the name of the auto suggest, your search will automatically be executed. Funnel down your commercial search If you started searching without any filters, or have too many results, you can now narrow down your results by selecting the type / status for your search. For example, drill down by selecting properties that are For Sale or For Lease or Active Under Contract. You can even choose Off Market Public Records. Each status has a corresponding calendar that can be used to set the date parameters that will restrict your search to that exact time period. One helpful tip as you are learning how agents in your market prefer to list properties, is to keep the "Commercial" property checked as this is a catchall property type and can house a mixture of properties that you may be interested in. Select your Price or Lease Price and enter the building or leasable square footage parameters and/or enter the lot size. Note that RPR features a mobile responsive design. This means that the layout will adjust based on screen size. For smaller screens, some search options are moved to the "Filters" area. Select the filters icon to expand the advanced search. You'll immediately see the count of properties matching your criteria. This is a helpful reference that will allow you to better pinpoint the specific properties you're looking for. Pro Tip: RPR has a max number of properties that you can search. Once your search area exceeds 5000 properties, RPR will show a message requesting that you adjust your search filters to narrow down your results. Advanced search filters include distressed actions, land use, and miscellaneous fields such as occupancy type, owner name, year built, time owned, and keyword search. Search Results: List View Now that we've gone over the basics of searching, let's move on to property search results. Choose List View to arrive at your results (the first set of icons in the upper right). To continue narrowing down your results, select the Filters icon and adjust the parameters of your search. You can also sort your results by clicking the Sort By dropdown or one of the column headers. From the List View, you can also save properties by clicking the heart icon (all the way to the right of the column). The property is automatically named after the street address, but you can type a new name if desired. Then select Save and the property will be added to your saved properties. Your Saved properties are listed on the homepage, or you can access them from the top navigation by choosing My Work and My Saved Properties. Printable View If you're looking for a printable view of the search results, select the properties you want by using the corresponding checkboxes and then selecting Print. A window will open allowing you to print Only Selected Properties or All Results. Note: selecting All Results will print the properties currently showing on your screen. If you have a large number of properties to print, make sure to scroll to the bottom of the screen to view all your results. From this results list, you can also create mailing labels or similar data to export into a CSV file, which is great for importing building and owner details into your customer relationship management system. Do that by selecting Mailing Labels from your results and then walking through the onscreen prompts. You can also go straight to creating a report by selecting Create Report. Photo and Map View There are also other options for viewing your results. You can change to a Photo Grid View or to the Map view by selecting those icons (in the upper right). The Photo Grid View gives you a way to view larger photos of the property. And the Map View allows you to further define your areas by drawing them on the map, or by displaying the outlines of geographies such as neighborhoods, ZIP codes, Opportunity Zones and more. (We cover that in more detail in this Commercial Maps article.) And finally, once you've found a property that you want to review further, select it to view the full property details. RPR Commercial: Keep it simple and solid It's no wonder commercial agents are talking about how easy RPR is to use and how the tools and property reports make them look so smart to their clients. The insight you gain from RPR Commercial isn't just a hunch; it's tried, true, hard data that can help you deliver recommendations that get results and ROI. Visit narrpr.com today to learn more. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Realtor Sees RPR Commercial as a 'Game Changer' Based on the Size of His Market
This month's installment of RPR's (Realtors Property Resource) Success Stories welcomes Dave Ferro. Dave is the Managing Broker and Vice President of Watson Realty Corp in Gainesville, Florida. Dave is a REALTOR®, a practicing commercial practitioner, and an investment real estate specialist. He's also been active in leadership roles, including being the past President of the Gainesville Alachua County Association of REALTORS®, and the past District Vice President of Florida REALTORS®. He is currently the Florida REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Committee Council Chair. This latest role is how we heard his story. The RPR Member Experience team recently attended (via Zoom) one of those Florida REALTORS® Commercial Alliance Committee meetings and heard some eye-opening tidbits about RPR from Mr. Ferro. When it came to discussing using RPR Commercial as a resource, he said, "RPR reports really 'wow' my clients. I see RPR as a game changer based on the size of my market." Speaking to him about using RPR in his commercial business seemed like a no-brainer! Here's our Q&A with Dave Ferro... Q. How long have you been a REALTOR®? And what area do you specialize in? I've been a REALTOR® since 2004. I'm a broker and manage an office, but I also do deals myself, both commercial and residential. Q. How were you introduced to RPR? I'd heard about it, but I wasn't exactly aware of what it could do for me, as far as my commercial needs. But then I found out that RPR had collaborated with and was receiving listing info from CREXi and other listing sites. That access really got me to pay attention. For me, I use RPR to see stuff in the market. Not just MLS stuff, but everything. The commercial members of our board wanted better exposure nationally, and they were paying for third party services. I advocated for our users to use RPR and integrate with RPR. I said, "Let's keep our commercial guys happy and adopt RPR. It's free!" I also run three offices that are residential, and they all use RPR, too. The reports are really impressing all the sellers that we work with. Q. How are the reports doing that exactly? Well, in our offices, we really support, nurture and encourage old school farming. We like to canvas an area or neighborhood, do a quick intro, and then provide some info for the homeowner. The leave-behind we hand them is an RPR Seller's Report. They just make us look so smart! They're beautifully packaged and it looks like you spent a ton of time on them–but you really don't. It's a huge time saver and gives us a bunch of credibility. They're especially great for newcomers and really make the practitioner look brilliant! Q. What are some of your go-to features or tools? I use the property reports a lot. For a listing appointment, I come in with the property report, I personalize it, and it gives them something to chew on and read. It's a great leave-behind. And when it comes to property valuations and that type of thing, I usually know the number in my head because I know my local area so well. But when I present this data as backup to show I know what I'm doing, it's proof! The reports show I'm informed and I'm credible. All of it makes me look professional: "Here's info you may not have seen." I have to admit, sometimes commercial guys don't always put together the best presentation packages. We just don't have the time. And most smaller mom and pops don't always have that ability either. But RPR Commercial gives you that quality. It's very useful to small and mid size shops, that's for sure. Q. Does RPR relieve any commercial pain points for you? Search! RPR Commercial allows me to do a quick and dirty report for listing appointments. Sometimes it goes like this: I get a call and someone says, "I want to sell my building. Can you swing by this afternoon?" So now the pressure is on me and I don't have a lot of time. That's when RPR comes through. It shortens the amount of prep time I need. When there's zero time for a fancy presentation, I can create a report on the fly. And I come off as relatable and informed. I do them on my desktop in the office right before I head over. Then I bind them, show up and present them to the potential client. It makes for a really impressive deliverable. Q. How do you use RPR in regards to the current market? Where do you find yourself most when you're on the site these days? Again, it's searching for properties and listings. RPR really simplifies my search. We have a lot of partners, all these websites, and it just takes up a lot of time. I go to RPR Commercial to save time and simplify. That perfectly sums it up for me. I don't have to go to each individual's website for listing info. RPR Commercial gives me a head start. I can see all my properties and deals in one location. It's such a great place to search, every commercial agent should try it. Q. Knowing what you know now about RPR, how would you have integrated it into your workflow back when you were running a small commercial brokerage? I would probably base all my decisions on what I get from RPR. It would've saved me a lot of time back then. If I had to go back, I would've pushed for RPR sooner in my market. I'd go to the board and explain that the flexibility to go from these other sites to RPR is unreal. There's just too many benefits to not utilize it. Q. Any good RPR "wow" stories? I have some customers who are really analytical types and they just love the reports. It's perfect for people who are data driven. They love it. Detailed folks, it gives them so much to chew on, it really satisfies their need to back up a decision with data. That certainly "wows" them and appeals to their personality. Detailed property data "wows" is something we always like to hear! Great insight Dave, and thanks for sharing. RPR Commercial: big, small and everything in between As you can tell, RPR can help commercial practitioners in so many different ways. Whether it's searching over 800,000 listings, researching over 56 million properties, creating property reports for presentations or tapping into site selection and trade area tools, RPR can help you and help your business grow. Try it today at RPR or sign up for this free webinar to learn more and see RPR Commercial in action. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR Commercial: Trade Area Reports
If you're a commercial real estate practitioner, you need as many commercial tools in your tool belt as possible. That's because your clients look to and lean on you for expert recommendations and guidance. For the best tools, look no further than RPR (Realtors Property Resource). This digital platform, provided by the National Association of REALTORS®, offers a wide range of commercial data-based tools, analysis capabilities and reports. This includes the ability to run a trade area analysis and create Trade Area Reports. These reports allow you to deliver a summary of the demographics, economics and data tapestry segments for a defined area. A breakdown of a community and its residents' characteristics and spending habits are also explained in great detail. Of course, this type of information is crucial when advising your commercial clients on where to set up shop or renovate an existing property. Before we dive in on how to run Trade Area Reports in RPR, here's a quick primer on exactly what a trade area is and how it can help you (and your clients) make better commercial real estate decisions. Trade Area 101 Straight to the point, a trade area is a defined geographic area which generates the majority of its customers. Figuring out the size and scope of a trade area is a vital piece of the puzzle, because these boundaries help determine how we can measure the number of possible customers, their demographics, and their spending power. Knowing a community's customer base allows commercial agents and RPR users to approximate how much demand there is (or will be) for stores and services. This basically means: how many people (shoppers) are in a given area and how much do they spend on products and services? Knowing this data goes a long way in determining whether your clients' business is a good fit for success and growth. Contributing Trade Area Factors Many factors go into determining trade areas, especially when you're trying to map out convenience versus destination shopping habits. Some things to consider: Population size: The bigger the community, the bigger the trade area. Nearby competitors: The cutoff point where customers are drawn to a competing area. Destinations: Big box stores or discount department stores usually attract customers from a long distance. Business mix: A cluster of popular businesses tends to pull customers from a distance. Large employers: A business with lots of daytime employees means lots of lunch, snack and beverage dollars being spent. Traffic: High traffic areas, either by foot or by vehicles, typically have an impact on visitors and sales. Trade Area Report How-to Now that we know what factors go into defining a trade area, we can use the RPR Commercial Map to select an area and extract the data. For example, let's say you have a client who is looking to open a new boba/bubble tea retail shop, and they have a general idea (neighborhood, ZIP code, town) of where they want to open their location. With an RPR Trade Area Report, you can scope out the area in a map, define the trade area, and see if this area is indeed a smart choice. Here's a quick and easy "how-to" to get you started: Start by going to narrpr.com, and then toggle to "Commercial." Put in an address, ZIP code, town name, etc. in the search bar, and hit "search" (the little magnifying glass icon). Next you'll be presented with a map view of the area. Click on the "Draw" icon (it's a pencil to the right), and choose a way to set your boundaries. Start with radius, it's the easiest. Click "search this area," then click "Create a Report," in the upper right navigation. Next step is to click "Run Report" and follow the prompts. Look at all that wonderful consumer profile data! Now's the time for you to crunch the numbers and review all the statistics and determine how right an area is for your client to open up their store. Trade Area Wrap RPR Trade Area Reports are packed with up-to-date consumer data, they look polished and professional, and they're ready to send off to your clients in seconds. For a more in-depth look at RPR Trade Area Reports and analysis, check out this article: Commercial Trade Area Details, which includes a short video tutorial. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Keller Williams Partners with RealNex on Exclusive Commercial Real Estate CRM
Keller Williams has entered into a strategic partnership with RealNex, an enterprise technology solutions provider for commercial real estate. Through the partnership, KW Commercial brokers and agents gain access to RealNex Navigator, a CRM-plus solution adapted to serve KW Commercial real estate brokers and agents globally. "We're excited to announce our partnership with RealNex because of the strong value it brings to our commercial real estate agents," said Cynthia Lee, executive leader of strategy and growth, KW Commercial, the commercial real estate division of KW. "The KW Commercial RealNex platform brings together a complete suite of marketing and business tools for our agents to thrive, while also maintaining our culture and brand promises," said Lee. "Our KW Commercial agents now have another true competitive advantage that allows them to best focus on the activities that benefit their bottom lines and growth." The KW Commercial RealNex platform streamlines all aspects of the commercial sales process by allowing brokers and agents to build and nurture relationships, manage leads, launch customizable marketing campaigns and reports, create custom listings websites, match buyers with properties and tenants with space, protect critical documents, and more. KW Commercial's RealNex functions on desktop or mobile, allowing agents to update the CRM on the go and in real time. From listing to close and beyond, the platform ensures each KW Commercial agent can increase both efficiency and ease at every step. "We are pleased that KW Commercial recognizes the tremendous capabilities and value proposition of RealNex Navigator™," said Mark Kingston, executive chairman, RealNex. "KW and RealNex share a common mission of providing technology and tools that enable commercial real estate professionals to achieve the highest levels of success while delivering world-class service to their clients." "In the coming months, we will further expand the value of our offering to the KW Commercial team with the introduction of our International Version, Auction Platform, Virtual Reality Platform and RealNex Data Solutions," said Kingston. "Bringing superior advantage to KW Commercial and RealNex clients worldwide is what we are all about. We succeed when our clients succeed." More information on the benefits and features of KW Commercial's RealNex platform are available upon request.

RPR Commercial Maps: Using the Draw and Driving Tools
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) offers commercial practitioners access to a million active listings, 55 million off-market listings, and an array of data-driven reports and tools to help you advise and serve your commercial clients. One of those tools is Commercial Maps, where you can perform powerful, geographical searches. These digital map tools can help you in conducting research, figuring out proximites, setting boundaries for areas, and determining distances from a particular point. You can start a map search by clicking the Research menu (in the upper right navigation area) and selecting Commercial Map Insights. Commercial Maps Drawing tools From the RPR Map, select the pencil Draw icon to create a custom search area on the map. A new icon selection menu will expand to the left. You can choose to draw freehand or select a shape: radius, polygon or box. All the drawing tools work similarly, with each serving a different purpose: Radius search: useful if your search involves a landmark, or a property you need proximity to Polygon search: helpful when you have clear, linear boundaries for the area you want to search, for example a highway or river Box search: useful for finding a potentially representative sample of properties in an area you don't know well Freehand search: allows the most flexibility to draw your search area Once you've drawn a shape, select Search in This Area to search for listings within your custom shape or select Conduct a Site Selection to be redirected to the site selection search with your drawn area used for the search. You can also select Create a Trade Area Report to redirect to the reports generation page, and generate a trade area report for that area. Drive and Walk Time Search Sometimes you'll deal with clients or investors that need information about how close or far away a specific point is, or they might need statistics on traffic counts, etc. This is where the Driving tool comes in handy. (It's the little car icon.) With it, you can access Travel Time and Distance search tools, plus Traffic Counts. Here's how to navigate Drive in the RPR Maps… To get started, click the Driving icon (the car), then a new sub menu will be revealed. The Travel Time option uses data on traffic patterns to enable the display of approximate driving times, in average conditions. This is helpful, for instance, if a client is searching for a property no more than 15 minutes from a specific location, such as healthcare facilities, shipping ports, or a university. You can also use the travel time to create a custom Trade Area report to help promote a property, or provide your client with a better understanding of the community they're investing in. When you select Travel Time, it's easiest to move the pin to your location, but you can also enter a complete street address. Select Next to continue. Now you can adjust your Travel Time criteria. For example, are you looking for travel time by car or by foot? What time of day are you traveling? What day of the week and how long is the length of your journey? Select Next after applying your criteria. A window appears showing the custom area size. Select Search in This Area to search for listings within your custom shape. Click the highlighted area again to find your custom area options. Select Conduct a Site Selection to redirect to the site selection search or select Create Trade Area Report to redirect to the reports generation page. You can delete, edit or save the areas, too. Take the iconic pencil and car tools for a spin RPR Maps offer layer upon layer of data for you to research and share with your clients. And the pencil and car icons (Draw and Driving tools) offer smart ways of finding solutions for commercial property buyers and sellers. A perfect way to get started is to take a guided tour: RPR Commercial Maps Shortcut. Clicking this link will take you on an informative, step-by-step journey through the commercial map search process. Good luck and get mapping! To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Find the Right Commercial Site for Your Clients' Customers
RPR Commercial offers REALTORS access to one million on-market listings, millions of off-market properties for research, and data set after data set to help business owners make informed decisions. So how does all this access and data apply to real world commercial real estate business? Let's talk a walkthrough in a hypothetical, yet specific scenario: your client wants to open a trendy, beach-themed, women's clothing store in southern California. Here's how you can show her where her customers are, how much they're spending on her product, and why a certain location is the ideal spot for her to open shop. RPR Commercial Site Selection walkthrough For the sake of our walkthrough example, we're going to choose a ZIP code in San Clemente, a beach town in southern Orange County, and only a half hour drive from North County San Diego (it's close to where this business owner lives and she's confident that this area perfectly dovetails with her brand). Here's a step-by-step on how to run a Site Selection analysis in RPR: 1. Go to: narrpr.com and log in 2. To get started, click Research; it's in the upper navigation bar and has a little magnifying glass icon right next to it. Then select Commercial Site Selection from the dropdown menu. 3. You are now on the Commercial Site Selection page. To conduct a broad area search, enter a ZIP code, city, state or county name into the search bar area. You can also find a specific area by using RPR Maps, to the right, by clicking Select area on map. (Note: For our hypothetical example, we are entering "92673," a ZIP code in San Clemente, California.) 4. Now it's time to start finding your client's customers! To do that, we use the Find people using spending and demographic data section. Start by selecting an attribute of your client's target customer. For example, in the first box, choose What They Buy, then a corresponding box will ask you to choose from a list. We're choosing Apparel for our example, then we narrow it down even more by choosing from another list, in this case, Women's Clothing. Click Ok and then move on to our next attribute by clicking the + Add More Criteria. You may choose up to five attributes to help narrow down your desired target. 5. Now choose another attribute; we'll go with Where They Live, then keep moving on by selecting Suburban Periphery, and so forth. It's pretty intuitive and you should get the hang of it easily. Move on and choose Facts and Stats to Income Trends to 2020-2025 Household Income Growth Rate. When you've completed your attributes list, click Run Analysis. 6. The Commercial Analysis results page will now display and give you an overview of the areas that meet your criteria for your customer attributes. On the left side, you'll notice a panel that displays your criteria match on a color-coded map of the area. The darker shading represents the area(s) with the best match. You can always change your geography types here with the dropdown menu; we'll choose Micro Neighborhoods. 7. To learn more about the demographic facts and stats that comprise the "best match" neighborhoods, let's view the Trade Area Details. Selecting one of the dark shaded areas, and choose View Trade Area Details. Now we can review details on income, types of income, ages, traffic counts and also take a demographic look at different types of consumer profiles (Boomburbs, Savvy Suburbanites, etc.) so you can get a sense of who these people are, generally speaking. Click Create Report to get all this information in a Trade Area Report. 8. To search for listings in an area with the best match from a Trade Area Summary page, simply click the View Nearby Listings link. See a property that gets your attention? Click Create Report and create a Property Report. Pro Tip You can customize each report and send them to clients via email, text, or even print them out and deliver in person or snail mail. And, you can check and uncheck boxes to include or exclude any page from a report, just click the + (plus sign icon) next to View Sample to trim down/customize any report. Set your sites on greatness As you can see, what sounds like it might be quite complicated is actually fairly easy to create. You can use the RPR Commercial Site Selection Tool to give your clients a plethora of demographic and economic information to help them (and you) make thought-out, smart, data-driven decisions to help them find the optimal location for a business. If you're thirsty for more RPR Commercial content on the site selection tool, including a tutorial video, check out: Commercial Site Selection. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

What Does RPR Commercial Offer Realtors?
Access to one million commercial property listings. Check. Access to over 57 million off-market commercial properties. Check. A Site Selection tool that zeroes in on ideal areas for business locations. Check. An easy to learn, easy to use, super intuitive platform. Check. It’s included in your NAR member benefits, so there’s no cost. Check. Check out this one minute video to learn how RPR Commercial can help you build your commercial real estate business. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR's Commercial Partners: a Rock-Solid Foundation of Data
RPR houses a treasure trove of data for just about every type of property in the country. We put it all together, and present it for REALTORS to access and leverage. And we make it as painless as possible, with an intuitive, user-friendly interface and industry-leading deliverables. In this article, we're going to take a closer look at all of our commercial data partners that help power the tools and reports you find inside of RPR. Property data that's second to none RPR focuses on two main data sets: property level and community level. With so much of our data tied around properties, let's take a look at the property level data set to start off. Like any real world structure, a real estate database needs to have a solid foundation. For RPR, this foundation is built on public records which are brought to users by Black Knight. Black Knight's data provides RPR users with quick access to public records including tax details, zoning, ownership information down to the corporate level, and much more. The best part is that you have nationwide access to every property, which allows you to look for sold comps or create mailing labels. Our public record data comes in two datasets: Assessment and Recorder. The Assessment data is updated annually and includes building and land descriptions such as square footage, zoning and building quality. The Recorder data includes information around transactions such as last sold price, date, as well as including deed and mortgage records. This data is updated as often as weekly for larger counties, or up to every 120 days for smaller ones. The list keeps getting longer... With this foundation in place, we add on in the form of listing data from our partners across the country. Many REALTORS® belong to a local CIE (Commercial Information Exchange) or Multiple Listing Service, most of which have partnerships with RPR. This way, when you log in to RPR, you're able to see your local listing data merged with the public records, which helps fill in the details. We also have partnerships with many of the leading national commercial listing platforms. This serves two main functions: first, it supplements the local MLS or CIE feeds with any non-REALTOR® listings in the market that they have collected. Second, it allows REALTORS® to use RPR to search for available space nationwide. Currently, our national partners are Brevitas, CREXi, TotalCommercial, Land Broker MLS, BiProxi and Officespace.com. Listing data is updated differently per partner, but none less than daily. These data partnerships give commercial practitioners who use RPR instant access to one million active listings, plus the ability to search 56 million off-market properties. Community data that can help your clients make informed decisions Another part of the property puzzle is understanding the current tenants. To help users with this question, RPR works with SMR Research. They have put together a proprietary database of over 25 million U.S. companies, schools, and other institutions from more than 425 public records sources, all available nationwide for RPR users and found on the Property Details page. This data is updated quarterly. And if that isn't enough information to help you help a client make a decision, we have our community level data that will help set your listing apart in the market. It can also ensure that the drivers of your clients' business or investment exist in the area they're looking to buy. The backbone of RPR's community data is Esri. They've been consolidating this type of information since 1969 and provide RPR users with economic, demographic and spending data, as well as the tapestry segment profiles seen throughout the platform. With this data, you can run trade area reports in order to help market a space, or perform a Site Selection Analysis to ensure that you're looking for properties in an area that will support the intended use. Some of the Esri data has also been converted into heat map layers which give users the ability to visualize key attributes on a map and share those insights with clients. Our final data partner to discuss is Kalibrate. They power the traffic counts also found on the maps throughout the commercial side of RPR. Kalibrate uses multiple sources to provide accurate traffic counts including governments, transportation departments, and Kalibrate's own field verifications. Users of RPR can see these counts across the country and they're included on all property reports. Kalibrate provides RPR with a quarterly data refresh. Commercial data partners you can rely on With all of this data, it's easy to see how RPR can help you set your properties apart and provide the tools you need to help your clients reach data-backed decisions. The insight you gain from RPR Commercial isn't just a hunch; it's tried, true, hard data that can help you deliver recommendations that get results and ROI. Visit narrpr.com today to learn more. Also, be sure to subscribe to the RPR YouTube Channel. It's an easy way to learn more about RPR features and tools, and stay current on updates and improvements. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR's Commercial Property Details: Facts, Stats and Records
After getting familiar with how to conduct a search and mastering the maps in RPR, you'll select a commercial property and find yourself on the Property Details page. And as the name implies, you'll be instantly supplied with a ton of details and key facts. When you first pull up a Property Details page, you can get a clear view (literally) of the property using Street or Overhead views. They're accessible just below the address and just above the main photo. Also, if available, view a virtual tour and historical photos of the property. And just to the right is an interactive map, which will allow you to access all the map features including Traffic Counts, Business Points of Interest and data layers such as Flood Zones. Dig into the details After finding the view you prefer, it's time to dig into the details. The Property Summary includes basic facts as well as pricing information if the property is For Sale or For Lease. A For Sale property will display the Listing Agent information, including their contact information. A For Lease property will show you additional suite options below the Property Summary section. In some instances, RPR may have more than one version of a listing, or the listing could be for sale and for lease, or there could be multiple suites available in one building. In the Multiple Listings section, you'll see each record we have from our listing partners. Another good section to check out is the "Additional Resources" area; it's just to the right of the Property Facts. Here you have access to various RPR partners that can add value to a transaction. For example, you can run an investment analysis with Valuate or take a look at the property on one of our listing partner sites. Property facts and Tenant data The Property Facts section includes both public and listing facts for the property. You can augment these facts by entering Your Changes in the fields available. For instance, if the lot size is different from what is reflected in RPR, or if there is information missing that you have such as the ceiling height or cap rate, you can select "Add another row" and add custom rows of information. These changes are only available to you and the reports you create. Be sure to select Save to save your changes. Tenant data also has its own section. Where available, detailed tenant data is displayed to help you understand whether a particular building is a good fit for a client as well as to understand the tenant mix from an investment standpoint. You can also edit the details of a tenant by clicking the pencil icon to add information such as main contact name, phone number or business type. Once completed, you can even print out a list of tenants with the Print Tenant List button. Detail after detail after… Want to add your own updates and professional opinion on a property? Look for the My Updates section just to the right of Tenants. In this area, you can add your own additional notes or photos of the property. PRO TIP: The photos you add in My Updates can also be used as your cover photo on property reports. As you make your way down the Property Details page, you'll be amazed at how many fact-packed sections you'll find, including: Price Change History Interior and Exterior Features Historical Records Listing Details Location Details including Flood Zones Owner Facts Legal Description including zoning and even plat maps, where available Tax Information and Deed Records Trade Area with economic and demographic information (watch this video for a more in depth look at Trade Area) And that wraps up our walkthrough of the Property Details page for a Commercial property. As you can tell, RPR is loaded with property data that you can use to help your clients make smart, informed decisions. Put to good use, these details can dovetail into more trips to the closing table. For a video version of this same topic, we recommend watching RPR Basics & Beyond: Commercial Property Details: And be sure to subscribe to the RPR YouTube Channel. It's an easy way to learn more about RPR features and tools, and stay current on updates and improvements. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

RPR's Commercial Trade Area: Discover the Data and Details
You've surely heard the saying: "location, location, location." Well, it certainly applies to commercial real estate. To close a deal, you must find the absolute best location that meets and exceeds your clients' expectations. You need up-to-date, detailed information to help you stand out from your competition. You need RPR's Trade Area Details. RPR's Trade Area data provides users with the community details that help set a property apart when marketing to potential buyers and tenants, or to ensure that an owner occupier or investor is choosing an area with a community that will support their business or investment. This article will walk you through the Trade Area information that RPR offers, where to access it, and how to use it.

How to Create and Customize Commercial Reports in RPR
If you're looking to send something to your commercial clients that will really "wow" them, look no further than RPR Commercial Reports. In this article, we'll look into each type of Commercial report offered, and then take a closer look at how to customize what's included in those reports. There are various ways to create a report in RPR Commercial. To get started, access the reports generation page by clicking the Reports link visible anywhere on the site and selecting the report you want to generate, or by following the Create Report button on the Search Results page. You can also do this on the Property Details page or the Get Trade Area Analysis Report on the Site Selection Results pages. You can also find a direct link to creating a report on your selected area of the map as well as on the Trade Area details page. RPR reports can be created, saved, emailed, printed and even shared on Facebook directly from your desktop or your Android or Apple devices. Since reports are in PDF format, you can even share them to other networks such as LinkedIn. And best of all, you get to choose what is and isn't included in every report you generate. 3 types of reports to choose from RPR has three different types of Commercial reports to choose from: the Commercial Property Report, the Trade Area Report and the Trade Area Analysis. Commercial Property Report: this contains a comprehensive look at an individual property, including detailed property information, photos, property history and listing activity, and trade area information such as traffic counts. (Our Property Search & Results video will walk you through finding the perfect property for your report.) Trade Area Report: this shows a summary of the demographics, economics and tapestry segments for the trade area the user has defined. The Trade Area Details tutorial will direct you to finding the area to run your report in. You can also create customized map searches to run trade area reports for. Trade Area Analysis: this allows you to identify the optimal location to search for properties based on the user selected attributes that will drive the success of a business. Check out the Site Selection video for a quick walk-through of how to create your Trade Area Analysis report. PRO TIP: In addition to these three core reports, as an RPR user you have access to Valuate which allows you to create an investment analysis and export a corresponding investment analysis report. Customize your deliverables Now that you know a little about each report, let's review tips for customizing your reports. To select a report, choose the radio button for the corresponding report you want to create (that's the little circle button next to each of the three report selections). Select the plus sign (it's just to the right of View Sample) to display all of the elements included on the report. If you are unsure about what something represents, move your mouse over the "i" and you'll see a preview of that particular element. Un-select the checkboxes to remove the elements you do not want to include and the system will remember those selections for next time. The cover page elements can be customized for all reports on the right side of the screen. Choose what you want included or omitted on your cover page, including page numbers. This can be particularly helpful if you're going to include the RPR report with other materials such as a company overview or marketing strategy for a seller. You also have the ability to insert your own PDF pages into any of your RPR reports, or include PDFs uploaded by your brokerage. Under "General Report Preferences" on the right side of your screen, select "Manage Custom Pages." A pop-up will appear, allowing you to add up to five customized PDF files. You might include a page containing your biography and other professional information for your clients to see in their report. This is also an excellent way to showcase testimonials, include one of the NAR research reports, add your investment analysis performed with Valuate, or a marketing plan and methods you plan to employ for your client. Add custom pages Select Add custom page to upload PDF files from your system. You can upload a max of five PDFs that are no larger than 10MB. It's best to clearly name these files for future use. Arrange the order of the pages by selecting a row and dragging up or down. You can specify the location of the custom report page to be at the beginning or the end of your report. Once complete, add your custom pages to individual reports under the plus sign dropdown. Select or unselect custom pages you wish to be included. Your selections are saved for any future reports you run, but you can change them at any time. The final steps are to personalize your report, if you choose, and select your delivery method: either PDF or email. Click Run Report. The reports you generate will appear under My Reports at the top of the Reports page. Reports will remain in the list for 30 days, after which time they are automatically deleted. If you click on the dropdown below the generated report, you can choose from several options with which to manage your reports, including delete the report, redownload the report, rerun the report, and share the report on Facebook. And that's a wrap on RPR Reports. As you can see, they can really help you make a positive impression on your clients. Don't hesitate to create one and send it out or share it. Also, be sure to subscribe to the RPR YouTube Channel. It's an easy way to learn more about RPR features and tools, and stay current on updates and improvements. To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

Top 5 Commercial Real Estate Trends to Know in 2021
A tumultuous 2020 has left its mark on a multitude of economic sectors. What are the consequences of the pandemic crisis on the commercial real estate market in 2021? What can be expected will depend to a large extent of where the property is, and which segment of commercial activity is being considered. At any rate, there is by all accounts a huge pent up demand. The U.S. savings rate has doubled over the last year. The stock market is on fire, which is a good thing, but it is also making investors nervous. Equities seem to be poised for a major pullback. Savvy investors are starting to look into diversifying more of their assets in real estate so they can dodge that bullet.

Use Public Records to Find Commercial Prospects
To be a successful commercial real estate practitioner, you obviously need clients and listings. And you probably get quite a few through repeat and referral business. However, some signs are pointing to the commercial market tightening up in the near future, which means now might be a great time to brush up on your prospecting skills. Lead generation can play a key role in having a strong year versus a weak one.

Engaging Buyers through Email Campaigns with Ardian Zagari
In this video, RPR chats with Ardian Zagari, co-Founder of Brevitas. We all understand that in today's world, we might feel a bit awkward promoting properties unsolicited. However, we also know that we have to keep deals flowing. In our conversation, Ardian provides pointers on crafting your email campaigns so they'll be welcomed by recipients and drive engagement. By using Brevitas as a proxy, we discuss various ways to track a campaign's impact. Here are some key takeaways:

How to Value Investment Properties with Bruce Kirsch
In this video, Bruce Kirsch with Real Estate Financial Modeling (REFM) and the creator of Valuate will walk you through a very simple investment scenario using a single family rental income. This will give you the building blocks to get started with using both Valuate and working with investors.

Top 5 Data Needs for Researching Commercial Properties
RPR wants to help REALTORS succeed. As the nation's largest real estate database, RPR provides commercial practitioners with data, tools and reports that will help them "wow" their clients and close more deals. Here, we identify the top five areas in RPR Commercial that can be used to help bring more clients and more deals to the closing table.

RPR On America's Commercial Real Estate Show with Michael Bull
Watch RPR's Director of Commercial Services, Nathan Graham, as a guest on "America's Commercial Real Estate Show" with host Michael Bull. If you're a commercial practitioner, it's a video podcast titled "Free Commercial Real Estate Tools for REALTORS" that you don't want to miss.

Investing in Opportunity Zones
Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zones were created with the idea of providing incentives for private investors to revitalize economically distressed communities, rather than using taxpayer money to do so. The main incentive is offering investors a way to shield their proceeds from capital gains taxes by investing those proceeds in these zones and hitting specific benchmarks. Some of you might be wondering how this is different from a 1031 exchange? The key is that these investments don't have to be like-kind exchanges. To learn more about the rules behind these zones, review these frequently asked questions. Now that we know what Opportunity Zones are, and why this act was initiated, lets see how it's playing out in the real world from the perspective of Chad Gleason CCIM, with PENTAVIRATE in Seattle, Washington. Q. From your perspective, why are Opportunity Zones good for the commercial real estate sector and communities in general? A. Anytime you are in a situation where you can have the added benefit and incentive to invest in real estate, it's a great thing. We are working with groups who are looking at exit strategies from properties, but are hesitant to do so due to high capital gains tax costs. These zones offer an alternative to lower, and in some cases, totally negate the majority of capital gains taxes while providing the community with the benefit of improving dilapidated buildings or developing raw land. Q. How are local economic development groups using Opportunity Zones to attract investors? A. I am hearing of tax and zoning incentives being added to the already great benefits of the Opportunity Zones. This could be as simple as upzoning, as is the case here in the Seattle market, or with the addition of new market tax credits to the site, if applicable. Having designated assemblages within the zones are also key marketing tools for sites who are recruiting companies that are looking to develop, move or expand. Q. Let's say I want to invest in a property in an Opportunity Zone. Can I just sell my Amazon stock and take those gains to buy a building? A. There are a few options here: you can place all of your sale proceeds into the investment, partial proceeds or simply your gains from the prior investment. I would suggest sitting down with your REALTOR® and tax specialist to devise a strategy for your personal investment plan. The Opportunity Zone has great value when you are willing to place your funds in the project for up to 10 years. Q. What is your go-to example of an actual project in an Opportunity Zone and what difficulties have investors encountered in trying to set themselves up to take advantage of these benefits? A. I usually don't point to a specific example, but instead try to break down the impact for that specific client. Many investors are not willing to sell due to the large amount of capital gains taxes they would have to pay after the sale, so walking people through the process, showing them the pathway for reducing their capital gains taxes and showing them what that means to them in a cash on cash investment scenario, is the proper way to introduce them to an Opportunity Zone investment. The difficulties have been few outside of the timing of the roll out of rules that are now available to everyone. Over the course of the introduction of the program to the last round of the rules that were shared in May of this year, the relatively new program is only one and a half years old. Q. How are properties marketed differently when they are in an Opportunity Zone and what has been the impact of that fact on potential investors you work with? A. Investors who are aware of the program and are looking to reduce the capital gains tax from a previous investment are now asking about properties in Opportunity Zones upfront in the process. In response, listing platforms as well as the agents using them are making sure that it is very clear their property is in a zone when it is, which makes finding properties easier and connects us to the other data we need to perform due diligence on projects. Q. What advice would you give to a REALTOR® who is counseling a client on the purchase of a property in an Opportunity Zone in order to take advantage of the capital gains incentives? A. Use the information that is available to you through RPR along with NAR, CCIM, as well as your state and local associations. Learn as much as you can about the process, key points and timelines within the program. I strongly suggest you also work with the client's real estate attorney and tax specialists to make sure the plan is right for them. The sale and reinvestment of the client's sale proceeds is an important decision and needs to be very well understood for the success of everyone in on the transaction. See the Commercial Opportunity Zone Layer in action: To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.

How Commercial Real Estate Offers a Vision of Workplace Environments
Today's workplaces have placed a greater emphasis on visibility into both commercial real estate spaces and the corporate office spaces that fill them. It's no secret: we spend a significant portion of our lives at work--around one-third of our lives, in fact. As a result, the workplace environment can be as consequential as the home. Companies spend a lot of time (perhaps today more than ever) choosing the right space for their employees in building their desired company culture. For commercial real estate pros, this is something to keep in mind when marketing spaces and attracting clients. Over the years, office spaces have changed to match these changing aspects of desired workplace environments. Recently, there has been an emphasis on friendly, colorful and open office spaces; showing that off is viewed as a major recruiting tool for top talent.

Piecing Together a Commercial Market
When it comes to commercial real estate, REALTORS need access to accurate and reliable data. Pulling together bits of market data here and there can be frustrating as well as time-consuming. Commercial agents need it all in one place, at the touch of a button.

RPR Expands Commercial Focus in 2019
Since 2012, RPR has offered REALTORS an exclusive resource to support clients and customers in the commercial marketplace. In an industry of rapidly evolving technology and strong competition, RPR has consistently worked to improve its commercial resources, including the RPR Commercial Mobile app. In 2019, RPR is further expanding its commercial programs and features through:

What is a Retail Gap Analysis?
Part of working with retail clients is understanding the supply and demand conditions for the markets they are looking to, or should be looking to enter. This type of research is typically referred to as a retail gap analysis and, luckily for Realtors, it's easier than ever to perform utilizing RPR Commercial.

A Commercial Pro's Success Amplified through Realtor Membership
Greg Hrabcak, CCIM, started his real estate career directly after graduating from Ohio State University 33 years ago. Since then, Greg has been involved in the sale and leasing of industrial, investment, retail, and office properties, as well as business brokerage sales throughout central Ohio. Greg's clients include Kroger Company, Inland Real Estate Growth Fund, Textron Financial Services, United Parcel Services, and Five Guys, and he has received awards from the Columbus Board of REALTORS, Ohio Association of REALTORS and the National Association of REALTORS.

Midyear Commercial Wrap-up: Data Integration Top of Minds
RPR Commercial staff were all hands on deck at this year's NAR Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo. Booth traffic was steady with members taking time to engage with staff, particularly over RPR's Trade Area Reports and Valuate (the platform's investment analysis tool). On-market commercial listings have increased to nearly 360,000––a 20 percent increase since Q1 2018, which prompted other value-added conversations among booth visitors.

A Look Inside the Power of RPR Commercial
Tangible, authoritative, reliable data. That's what commercial practitioners across the nation tell us about what they need to succeed in the marketplace. And RPR is ready. From demographics, psychographics and predictive analyses, to economic data and a full suite of reporting tools, RPR Commercial is a REALTOR's right hand. Check out this infographic for a breakdown of how commercial practitioners can use RPR to identify the who, what and where for every town/city in America.

Market Watch: The Top Commercial Real Estate Trends for 2018
With the ups-and-downs of today's crazy economic and political climate, real estate can be complicated, to say the least. As this rapidly changing environment continues to affect the market, look to these commercial real estate trends to point you in the right direction: Interest Rates The benchmark lending rate rose in December by 1/4 point, to 1.25 to 1.5 percent. Three hikes for 2018 are projected, with the federal funds rate forecasted for 2.1 percent by the end of the year, and a rate of 2.7 percent projected for 2019. Despite these forecasts, the 10-year Treasury rate has remained stable, indicating the market is not so sure of these rate hikes, and looking to inflation as an indicator of their propensity.

Commercial Real Estate Technology: Price vs. Value
Every year, commercial practitioners spend a lot of hard-earned money on data from a variety of sources, hoping to integrate all of the pieces into a singular client presentation. Yet, only Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®) can offer commercial practitioners all of the data and reports they need from one reliable, authoritative source. Better yet, RPR is offered as a benefit of NAR membership, already included in their annual dues. The infographic below compares the ROI of RPR versus other data sources:

Top 5 Data Needs for Researching Commercial Properties
'Tis the season for list making and in this spirit of the holidays, we want to help you with your clients' top five must-have pieces of information when buying or listing a commercial property. 1. Property Details Definitely the number one category of information for your client, and it goes beyond "Is this property available?" Dig into information on square footage, zoning, owners, tenants, tax information, mortgage records, legal descriptions and much more. There are a multitude of resources that help you research a property from free sources such as public records to your paid listing and data service providers. RPR Commercial pulls data together for you in one place through aggregating public records nationwide and partnering with 26 contracted CIEs/CMLSs and 668 MLSs for on-market commercial listings. Currently there are more than 320 million on-market listings, over 35 million off-market properties and with the recent integration of SMR Research, an additional 7 million tenants occupying space available for your research exploration.

An Economist's Tour from Wall Street to Main Street
Realtors® are often looked at by clients as local economic experts. With expectations to time markets precisely, identify future purchase/sale opportunities before anyone else, and ultimately apply all of this to determine the optimal purchase or sale price for projects having multiple year outlooks. Of course, this comes easy with a crystal ball, but if you don't have access to one, knowing a few data points and having the right resources can vastly improve your odds at projecting things accurately. Lucky for Realtors®, experts like George Ratiu are here to guide us in how to better use a tool like RPR Commercial in order to mine economic insights.

Wooing Amazon: Red Rover, Red Rover Send Amazon HQ2 Right Over
Cities and municipalities across the U.S. are scrambling to put together their portfolios. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is looking for a second headquarters. Those up for consideration will include metropolitan areas in North America with at least one million people, a stable business climate, urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent, and communities that think big and creatively. What will it take to win the affection of Amazon and bring billions of dollars to the local economy? While many would love to call their city a home for Amazon, some locations make more sense than others, especially when it comes to finding the right people for the 50 thousand jobs the behemoth merchandiser intends to create.

At the Core of RPR Commercial
For many commercial practitioners, RPR is the go-to source for persuasive, decision making data and reports. From site selection and investment analysis tools to demographic and psychographic insights about communities, this valuable Realtor® member benefit truly helps validate a practitioner's local expertise when working with a broad range of clients. At RPR Commercial, we have a goal of becoming the nation's top technology for researching and analyzing commercial real estate opportunities. With this in mind, our data and integration partnerships are strategically selected so that whether they provide local economic activity or traffic counts, they all provide nationwide coverage and usability. So just by being a Realtor® and creating an RPR account, users have unparalleled access to the following:

Work, Play, Live: The Commercial RE Focus
It's becoming rare to see a separation between work, play and everyday life as Millennials continue to seek walkable communities that include easy treks to work and entertainment. According to a recent Swanepoel T3 Group study, Commercial Real Estate ALERT: Analysis of the Latest Emerging Risks and Trends, demographics based on the interests of Millennials are more important than ever in business practices.

The Next Frontier for Business Efficiency: CRE Tech Integration
The world of commercial real estate technology is booming. Today's software developers appear to be limitless as to what problems they can solve, and new innovative companies seem to grow by the day. While modern technologies are a welcome change to most in the commercial real estate space, it has led many practitioners to declare, "I subscribe to several software systems. It would be terrific if they were all connected." With this consistent mention from CRE professionals, naturally the right solution for tech companies to explore is integration. But before we can dive into this concept, it is important to understand how integrations are possible. An Application Programming Interface (API) is a software-to-software interface that allows separate programs to connect in a simple environment. In other words, this software concept allows for the seamless access of a user from one platform into another, or allowing a user access to portions of one software on another program's platform. "Integrations are the wave of the future in software," says Bruce Kirsch, Founder and CEO of REFM. "Having an API has been on our product road map since day one of Valuate®. We believed then, and still do today, that inter-operability with other platforms is one of the things that makes and keeps a software platform valuable and relevant."

3 Bite Size Courses to Get You Going in RPR Commercial
With the start of a new year come goals, resolutions, and a general sense of being able to finally accomplish those high aspirations, such as improving your services to commercial clients. While we can't help you get to the gym more often, we can certainly guide you through using RPR in ways that will save you time, and give your clients a reason to keep coming to you for their commercial real estate needs. Below are three courses that will get you started down the right path. 3 Key Benefits to Wow Commercial Clients This course is a great introduction to RPR Commercial or even just a quick refresher. The focus is on how to gather and add information about properties and save time searching for communities that complement your client's business needs. As an added bonus, you will even learn a few great tips for how to use RPR Commercial on mobile devices. Save my seat!

RPR Launches Traffic Data, New Report Customization Feature, and More
Realtors Property Resource® is wrapping up 2016 with two significant new features for residential and commercial users: traffic count data and user-generated report pages. Traffic count data arrives in website and mobile Now, RPR offers the industry's most current traffic measurement product to its website and app users with 24-hour average daily traffic counts for highways and roads throughout the United States. Available in both the commercial and residential modes of your RPR app, the tool displays estimated current and historical data based on average daily and average weekday traffic counts. Simply go to any RPR map on your phone or tablet and click the Traffic Counts icon. Then, select a street-level pin to reveal the data. For commercial practitioners who prefer to access traffic counts through the RPR website, first, search for a property, then choose Bigger Map and click on the Traffic Counts icon from the options provided.

Simple Solutions for Gathering Commercial Property Facts
While the commercial real estate culture has traditionally leaned toward practitioners holding property details tight to the vest, clients still expect to have all the facts before making a decision on site selection. With RPR Mobile™, commercial practitioners can instantly access an expansive amount of property information from wherever they are and then easily transform that data into a sophisticated, decision-prompting report—one that is immediately delivered to the client by way of email or text. Here's how. 1. Pull up the property You are on a walk-through with your client. You have the property information that is available pulled up on RPR Mobile™. You know there are holes in the facts. Between your client's needs for the space and the information the property manager is providing outside of the listed facts, you need to capture as much information as possible and your pen cannot write fast enough...

[Infographic] Introducing the RPR App: Commercial Mode
Residential and commercial practitioners across the nation will be pleased to learn that RPR Mobile™ now includes commercial data and reporting. Learn more about this valuable asset by checking out this simple infographic: Click to view full size

Commercial Data Comes to the RPR App
REALTORS® across the nation will be pleased to learn that RPR's app now includes commercial data and reporting. The full extent of the app's expansion into commercial territory will greatly enhance a REALTOR'S® ability to conduct on-location property searches, analyze a multitude of relevant data sets; and instantly create client-friendly, decision-prompting reports. The new Commercial mode, easily activated from within the RPR app, is similar to the platform's Commercial website, recognizable by its red theme. Once logged-in, REALTORS® can swipe through three home screens: property search, nearby market activity, and area demographics. Searching properties in commercial mode will return active (for sale or lease), sold or leased, off market, and distressed properties within a specific area. And every search easily converts to a branded report with a REALTOR'S® photo and contact information. The reports (Commercial Property, Trade Area or Best Business) can be instantly downloaded and/or emailed to a client. How will this marketplace innovation make a difference in your real estate world? Here are three scenarios to think about.

The Strength of a REALTOR®: Resourced with Data for Commercial Business Needs
With social media buzz surrounding hashtags like #REALTORTEAM and #GETREALTOR, the public is being reminded about the expertise a REALTOR® brings to the table for investors. Since the National Association of REALTORS® represents members involved in all aspects of real estate, strategy around value added data to support each REALTOR's® specific business needs continues to be an ongoing study. To dive deeper into commercial members' needs, RPR recently went into the field, so to speak, to ask more than 100 Commercial REALTORS® what they find to be the platform's most valuable features—the tools that help them impress clients, win more business and save money; ultimately reiterating reasons to work with a REALTOR® versus a non-member. Here are the top three features according to participants: Site Selection Analysis Working with a developer who is trying to find a location for a mixed-use community with apartments and retail space? Use RPR's demographic, psychographic and spending data to identify high concentration areas of consumers, employees or renters. Users can also run an analysis targeting areas with young, successful singles seeking urban lifestyles and who spend their disposable income on dining and shopping.

Leading Clients with Strategic Site Selection (6/29)
Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at 12:00 PM PDT Helping clients find the right location for their businesses can be a challenge—especially when they have their sights set on the wrong side of town. Redirecting those preconceived notions comes easier when equipped with the robust data and dynamic reporting tools found at Realtors Property Resource® (RPR®). Join us for this insightful workshop where you will learn to integrate your local market expertise with data and reports that will lead your clients in the right direction. Register now!