Real estate is a tough game, whether you’re buying, selling, or investing. There are just way too many factors that can go into a decision; like location, market trends, budget, property type, ongoing costs, and more. Such details would be hard to gather on your own, but real estate market analysis tools can make the process so much easier.
How to choose a real estate market analysis tool?
Choosing the right real estate CMA software depends on the following factors:
1. Your needs:
- Basic vs. in-depth analysis: Are you looking for a quick overview of the market or a more detailed analysis?
- Residential vs. commercial real estate: There are different tools for each purpose, as we’ll see below.
- Investment vs. buying/selling: Some tools are geared towards investors who want to gauge lease or rental income potential. Other are more suited to buyers and sellers.
2. Tool features:
- Coverage: Does the tool provide data for your specific market and property type?
- Data accuracy and updates: How often is the data refreshed?
- Real estate metrics and reports: Does it offer the data you need, like market trends, demographics, and valuations?
- Visualization tools: Does it help you view the data by location or property type?
- Value comparison: Does the tool suggest similar properties for comparison?
3. Cost:
- Pricing model: Does it offer a free trial, subscriptions, or pay-per-use options?
- Cost vs. value: Does the price match the features and benefits you need?
Here are some additional tips for investors, real estate agents and property flippers:
- Read reviews and comparisons. Research different tools and see what other users say.
- Utilize every free trial and demo offer.
- During the trial, see how well the tool integrates with other real estate software (if you use them)
14 Real Estate Market Analysis Tools You Need to Check Out
To make things simpler, we have listed tool for each of the needs mentioned above. Towards the end, we have also listed a few extra tools for specific use cases – check them out as well.
Disclaimer: This isn’t an expert’s opinion. Our choices are based on independent research and user reviews. You might find real estate analytics tools that are more suitable to your area or use case.
Oh, and we’ve got a bonus for you at the end. So let’s dive in!
1. Realtor: For a General Overview
Realtor.com is the second most-visited real estate website in the US. While it’s not as in-depth as some of the other tools on this list, it’s a good starting point for anyone interested in this area.
Realtor offers a quick overview of market conditions, with data on sales prices and year-on-year price changes. It also has some nifty tools, like an affordability calculator to help you pin down your budget. Plus, it’s free to use.
Key Features:
- Location Filter: Search for properties in specific neighborhoods, zip codes or cities.
- Market Insights: See median sales prices, average days on market, and year-on-year price changes.
- Virtual Tours: Get a feel for property listings with photos, virtual tours, and property details.
- School Ratings: Have kids? Get information on schools nearby – and their ratings too.
- Mobile App: Use the Realtor app for real estate searches on the go.
2. Mashvisor: For In-depth Real Estate Analytics
Mashvisor‘s tools are designed for real estate investors and Airbnb property managers. But it’s also a solid choice if you’re searching for a property to live in with the potential to Airbnb.
Mashvisor sources their data from MLS listings as well as listings from other sites, including Airbnb. Lastly, the platform’s pricing starts at $17.99/month for the basic plan.
Key Features:
- Rent Estimation: Analyze potential rental income for specific properties.
- Cash Flow Projector: Forecast the potential cash flow from a rental property.
- Cap Rate Calculator: Calculate the cap rate, a key metric for investment property analysis.
- Occupancy Rates: Understand rental occupancy rates in different areas.
- Interactive Heat Maps: Find the best-performing neighborhoods using heat maps for rental yields and more.
- Property Search Tool: Find and compare investment properties based on your criteria.
3. NeighborhoodScout: For Residential Property Analysis
How safe is that area? NeighborhoodScout helps you find out. This tool is especially useful for homebuyers and investors who want to know just how liveable (and therefore, desirable) a neighborhood is.
Accessing this data requires a subscription. And at $112.50 per month (starting), it isn’t exactly light on the wallet. But it has other features that make it worth the price, if you can afford it.
Key Features:
- Detailed Reports: Get comprehensive reports with data on everything from school quality and diversity to home prices and employment statistics
- School Quality Analysis: View the ratings, average test scores, and student-teacher ratios for schools in your area.
- Safety Ratings: View the crime index and safety statistics for your neighborhood. For example, a crime index of 60 means that your area is safer than 60% of neighborhoods in the US.
- Cost of Living Analysis: Compare the cost of living in different neighborhoods.
- Walk Score and Transit Score: Measure the walkability and availability of public transport in an area.
- Family-Friendliness Score: Find out how suitable an area is for families with young kids.
4. Crexi: For Commercial Property Analysis
The main drawback of Crexi is that it doesn’t have the consumer presence of established competitors, like Loopnet and Costar. For the most part, this CRE platform caters to investors, brokers, and national corporations.
Crexi offers a in-depth database of commercial properties for sale or lease, along with market data and analytics. You can search the basic version using the ‘Property Data’ tab on the website. You can also access the full market data through the ‘Intelligence’ module, which starts at $299/month.
Key Features:
- Commercial Property Search: Find commercial properties for sale or lease. Filter by location, property type, and other criteria.
- Financial Analysis Tools: Analyze potential ROI for commercial properties.
- Market Reports: Access market reports. Get insights on commercial real estate trends.
- Tenant Screening: Filter potential tenants for commercial properties.
- Brokerage Services: Find a broker using location, asset type, association and other filters.
- Dashboard: View data on properties of interest, interactive maps, and more through multiple widgets.
5. Reonomy: For Investors
Reonomy is like a treasure hunter for real estate investors. It focuses on finding properties not publicly listed (“off-market”) that could be good deals.
While it can be expensive ($4,788/user /year according to one source), Reonomy is one of the best prospecting software in the industry – and a top-notch analytics tool. You can sign up for a free trial directly from the Reonomy website, which gives access to all of their features for 7 days.
Key Features:
- In-depth Property Data: Get detailed info on properties, including ownership details, sales history, and mortgage details.
- Market Insights: Understand market trends, including price trends, rental rates, and occupancy rates.
- Property Alerts: Set up alerts for new properties matching your search criteria.
- Tenant & Owner Contact Info: Get contact details for property owners and tenants. However, these need not be up-to-date.
- Brokerage Services: Connect to commercial real estate brokers in your area.
- Visualization Tools: Get a bird’s eye view of market data through interactive maps and visualizations.
6. Zillow: For Buyers & Sellers
Lastly, the most-visited real estate website in the US: Zillow. Compared to Realtor, Zillow’s market data may not be as accurate. However, it caters to a much broader audience that includes property buyers, sellers, investors and rentors.
While Zillow is focused on residential real estate, it can be a helpful tool for generalized market analysis. Its basic services are also free to use.
Key Features:
- Property Tours: Get a feel for each property with photos, virtual tours, and property details.
- Zestimate: Zillow’s automated tool for estimating the market value of a property.
- Market Insights: See historical and projected trends for home values and sales volume in an area.
- Affordability Calculator: Find rentals within budget.
- Zillow App: Browse properties and get alerts on the go.
- Agent Services: Connect with real estate agents in your area.
Other tools
Let’s check out some other popular real estate market analysis tools, and where they fit in:
7. DealCheck:
Looking for a more affordable alternative to Reonomy? Then you should definitely try DealCheck. It lets you enter property details and receive a fast analysis of potential rental income, cash flow, and other key metrics. This can help you assess a property’s investment potential at a glance.
8. Rentometer:
This tool zooms in on rental income estimates for residential properties. It also lets you download rental figures as a CSV file for further comparison. Useful for landlords and investors, but it can’t replace a more complete market analysis tool.
9. HouseCanary:
Think of them as the data powerhouse behind the scenes. They crunch real estate numbers, and provide insights to businesses like lenders and appraisers, but don’t offer a direct user tool. However, their data might be powering some of the analysis tools you already saw.
10. Roofstock:
It’s an online marketplace for investing in single-family rentals. Investors can buy shares from curated portfolios of rental homes across US markets; Roofstock will take care of the closing procedures and portfolio management. This makes suitable if you prefer a more hands-off approach to investing. They have tools for analyzing ROI.
11. PropertyMetrics
This can be another option to consider. They offer a range of real estate data and analytics tools, like commercial real estate valuation, property marketing, and courses on real estate analysis.
12. Cherre
This is a data aggregrator and analytics platform for commercial real estate. They provide tools for market analysis, due diligence, portfolio management, tenant screening and more. They are a good choice for brokerage firms who need comprehensive insights.
13. PropStream
PropStream is an ideal tool for finding property owners before they are even on the market. In short, a good platform for brokers to find high quality leads and market tool.
14. New Silver’s ARV Calculator
This is a handy free tool, particularly useful for fix-and-flip investors or anyone considering property renovations. It helps estimate the After Repair Value (ARV) – what the property could be worth after repairs.
Wrapping Up
That rounds off our list of real estate market analysis tools. They offer valuable insights for buyers, sellers, and investors looking to navigate the complex world of real estate.
All of these real estate market analysis tools have their own unique features and target audience. So choose the one that best fits your specific needs and budget.
Oh, and if you’re looking to do some research of your own, we have just the thing for you. This survey template is multi-lingual, brandable, has 12+ distribution channels, and downloadable reports. Plus, you get a dashboard for visualization. Nice, isn’t it?
Access your free survey template below.
Real Estate Market Survey Template
Preview Template
