At the end of the year, Real Estate Business Analytics bought Markerr, an analytics company that offers public rent datasets, market intelligence and forecasting models for multifamily and single-family rental housing markets, REBA said in a Dec. 23 press release. The Littleton, Colorado-based firm declined to share the cost of the transaction.
New York City-headquartered Markerr’s demand and supply insights, data and artificial intelligence-driven predictive modeling will enable REBA to deliver more complete intelligence — including clearly sourced and compliant internal and external data — for understanding real estate performance, per the release.
That compliance aspect is critical, as algorithmic pricing lawsuits continue to reshape regulations around the country on how rental data can be used. REBA co-founder and CEO Donald Davidoff said he believes the combination of the Department of Justice’s RealPage settlements, along with related laws in California, New York and Seattle, has established a "new normal" on rules for algorithmic pricing.
“We are very well tuned in to all of the legal settlements and the various new state and local laws on algorithmic pricing and feel the new regulatory environment has helped highlight what REBA has believed all along, that internal data alone is all that is needed for algorithmic pricing,” Davidoff told Multifamily Dive in an email.
According to REBA, its enhanced platform will give operators access to analytics and forecasting tools built on regulation-ready datasets and AI models designed for transparency.
“It is likewise extremely important to regularly conduct market research and analysis to understand trends, competitor pricing and resident demographics,” Davidoff said. “Markerr provides a broader set of data available to REBA customers; however, we will not be using any market comp data as input into the REBA Rent algorithm so as to stay compliant with even the most restrictive rules in any market.”
Markerr Founder and CEO Brian Lichtenberger said Markerr’s public rent datasets, demand, supply and AI-driven forecasting models, combined with REBA’s product suite, create a modern analytics framework that helps operators make faster, clearer decisions.
“The industry is asking for tools that are both compliant and predictive, and this combination delivers exactly that,” Lichtenberger said in the release.
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