Data, Access and the Future of Fair Competition in Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate is undergoing a slow and uneven digital transformation, yet its data infrastructure still lags behind. While new technology solutions are emerging, the market remains far from having the standardized and integrated environment common in other industries. 

As a result, accurate information, the industry’s true currency, remains difficult to verify. Participants across CRE continue to navigate inconsistent and siloed data, often relying on outdated workflows and fragmented ownership of critical information.

As the industry modernizes, the future will belong to those who build data environments that are transparent, integrated and scalable. Data has become CRE’s foundational asset, yet firms of all sizes continue assembling separate data sources and legacy data sets just to complete basic tasks. In a digitizing economy, fair competition depends on ensuring that all participants operate on dependable and validated information.

Some technology providers are beginning to address this gap by consolidating public and historical data into more reliable and accessible frameworks. One example is Crexi, which aggregates property records across more than 150 million U.S. parcels, demonstrating how large-scale verified information can be centralized to reduce friction and strengthen underwriting across markets.

Transparency has become a defining advantage in this shift. Platforms that clearly document how their data is sourced and verified earn greater trust, support stronger compliance, and contribute to more efficient markets. Efforts to provide visibility into data lineage reflect a broader movement toward accountability that is increasingly important for both institutional and independent users.

Industry tools are also evolving to make market-level insights more accessible. By bringing historical, public and internal data sets under consistent structures, emerging platforms are beginning to offer the analytic foundation that CRE firms have long lacked. In such an environment, trends can be understood and validated without piecing together disconnected systems.

Even with these advances, fragmentation persists. Definitions for listings, comparables and performance metrics vary widely across providers. Users often cross-reference multiple sources or average out conflicting information, consuming valuable time and resources. Larger organizations invest heavily in data normalization and reconciliation, diverting focus from strategic work such as underwriting and asset performance.

As accessibility improves, CRE’s next stage of digital acceleration will depend not only on better tools but also on industry-wide alignment. When brokers, owners, lenders and institutions adopt shared definitions, workflows become compatible, automation becomes feasible, and insights can scale across markets. 

Firms preparing for this shift now will be best positioned as digitization advances. Designing systems with the expectation that cross-platform communication rather than closed frameworks will define the next era of CRE technology will be essential.

The coming phase of development must prioritize shared data standards and integrable systems that make accuracy measurable and enable seamless communication between platforms. When users can compare, export and validate information across tools, they gain more control over their own analysis and reduce reliance on any single source. Emphasizing user-driven benchmarking and open comparison points toward a future of connected systems that serve the entire market.

Underlying these technical changes is an ethical question: Who ensures the integrity of the data supporting an entire asset class? CRE information is more than a competitive advantage. It is a shared resource that underpins pricing accuracy, investor confidence, lending decisions, development feasibility and municipal planning. Platforms that embrace data stewardship — ensuring clarity, auditability and standards that scale across institutions and independent firms — will shape the decade ahead. Treating data as infrastructure to strengthen the broader market rather than as a proprietary product is increasingly recognized as essential.

Protecting data integrity, verifying sources and maintaining transparency are not just compliance matters, they are the foundation of trust in a digitally enabled CRE ecosystem.

In today’s CRE landscape, credibility and fairness are essential to sustainable growth. When access is unified, definitions are consistent, and integrity is verifiable, the ecosystem strengthens for all participants. The future of CRE will be shaped not by who controls the most data, but by who builds the most reliable and integrated infrastructure. Platforms investing in openness and data reliability will help create the connective foundation for CRE’s next digital era.

Michael DeGiorgio is the founder and CEO of commercial real estate listings and data platform Crexi.