Recognizing these trends, the real estate industry has quickly adopted various types of calculators to solve everyday business challenges. These calculators solve problems, such as estimating a construction cost or a lease cost, based on user inputs. However, most currently available calculators are limited to basic math functions, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They simply perform pre-programmed operations for specific real estate calculations. However, real estate calculations are rarely this simple. These simple math calculations fail to account for the many factors involved in real estate projects. Hence, the results are suspect, and their uncertainty translate into uncertain degrees of risk for users.

Geospatial Analytics®, an industry leader in real estate analytics, is transforming use of calculators to enhance decision intelligence via introduction of its Analytic Calculators® and Analytic Pods®. These innovative solutions extend calculators beyond basic math functionality that is pre-configured for specific problems. Analytic Calculators® integrate additional data sets with user input to perform actual analytics that solve business problems. For example, to estimate a construction cost, the user multiplies square footage by the cost of materials per square foot.

Analytic Calculators® take the next step to compare the result with built-in estimates for similar buildings. The tool then outputs the relative accuracy of the original estimate based on multiple factors such as building location and building type. Analytic Calculators® can also predict the probability that other factors, such as built-in market trends on material costs and local labor rates, will increase or decrease the estimated costs. Similarly, for a real estate lease, the user can sum the square foot lease rate and anticipated operating expenses to determine the total leasing cost. Analytic Calculators® provide additional insights, including analysis of the lease rate compared to other similar properties, the probability that electrical cost trends will affect operating costs, and inclusion of specific lease terms that could decrease overall costs.

Analytic Pods® further leverages the powerful capability of Analytic Calculators®. Analytic Pods® “daisy chains” the outputs from selected Analytic Calculators® analyses to create a total outcome for a series of related calculations. For example, it can combine all of the construction estimates and then apply analytics to assess risks and opportunities using industry data. Users can analyze an entire lease transaction based on factors such as lease provisions, landlord attributes, trade center quality, and market trends. These solutions enhance decision intelligence by extending beyond a simple “answer” to useful insight and perspective on the quality of the answer and its associated risk.

Incorporate valuable analytics to add measurable value to your decision support process to realize cost saving, reduce risk, and gain a higher level of confidence in your critical decisions. Contact Geospatial Analytics® today.