Notes on data transparency in CRE

1.
Transparency builds trust, supporting long-term market stability. As one panelist said, “CRE is a relationship business. Improving confidence among participants benefits the entire system.”

2.
Utility function - data to be transparent (accessible) must be digital, opening new opportunities for tech-based performance improvement across all levels.

3.
It reduces risk and improves liquidity - easy access to relevant information speeds up better decisions.

4.
Transparency can make business a positive-sum game, potentially increasing market growth through more win-win situations.

These four insights are remarkable, but panelists Piotr Trzcinski (Savills IM), Pawel Tonski (Crido), Krzysztof Sakierski (Savills), and Prof. Bjorn-Martin Kurzrock (RPTU) agreed that significant challenges remain, and they’re not easily overcome.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

5.
Data quality is king. Without it, everything falls apart - there’s no trust, no reduced risk, and no value added. As one speaker said, “Garbage in - garbage out.”

6.
Someone else said, “Business is just a bunch of people.” That’s very true, and that’s why for data transparency to exist, market participants must see its benefits and agree to co-create this vision of the market. This condition is a must, whether we have the best quality data or not.

“Enthusiasm is necessary for any great change to take place.”

Final challenge and opportunity:

7. “Life is a game,
real estate is a game.
This shouldn’t change.”

Radical transparency often worries market participants about losing their edge or the market becoming boring. This is partly true - high value extraction and big bets must remain, especially for commercial real estate developers.

However, protecting the status quo is always short-term, and change brings huge opportunities for early adopters and pioneers.

I see transparency as the future bridge between real estate and technology.

ERES Conference, June 2023 (Sopot, Poland)