How have real estate prices changed in recent years due to factors such as coronavirus, inflation and tighter lending to private individuals, and how can big data generate competitive advantages for industry players such as estate agents and property developers?

Our graduates tried to get to the bottom of these questions in detail at the first ACE AlumniTUesday of the still young year 2024.

In an exceptionally exciting presentation by data experts David Beran and Hannes Arrich from IMMOunited, opens an external URL in a new window, the importance of harnessing data from land registers, purchase contracts, real estate platforms and other data sources for assessing the market became drastically apparent, even for the non-expert, and we got a foreboding that without the use of such data resources, we will probably have a difficult time in this market in the medium term.

Review of an eventful year in the real estate industry

Developments in the residential, land, commercial and apartment building sectors in 2023 were one of the focal points of the evening and the speakers were able to use IMMOunited's software to illustrate developments in detail using market data. For example, the abrupt impact of the new stricter lending rules as well as the effects of ongoing processes, such as the rising construction costs of recent years, could be visualized graphically. However, all this information is not only interesting in retrospect, but can also provide essential added value in the assessment of future developments. The upheavals in the real estate landscape caused by the recent events of the turbulent real estate year cannot yet be definitively assessed, but they are undoubtedly exciting changes that need to be analyzed in order to remain successful in this industry.

Relevance of Big Data

The enormous interest shown by IMMO students and alumni in the wide range of possibilities offered by the search functions of the company's own application was evident from the unusually large number of questions asked by participants. Until late in the evening, there were many detailed questions about the many usable features of the platform such as IMMOmapping, IMMOfarming or IMMOstats; for example, IMMOmapping can be used to evaluate and analyze information on real estate transactions from purchase contracts in the land register in detail on a map or aerial view. This evaluation can be carried out not only by city or district, but the target area of the data analysis can be narrowed down precisely and individually, and parameters such as price trends or asking prices can also be broken down into rental or purchase (according to detailed categories such as new-build projects, existing properties, apartment buildings). In addition to the company IMMOunited, founded by Roland Schmid, there are now other providers on the market who are doing good business with the utilization of data and there is no doubt that the efficient use of data will continue to represent an important competitive advantage for companies in the real estate industry in the future.

Afterwards, our ACE AlumniTUesday participants were able to discuss the insights and impressions gained during the evening with the experts and Vice Dean Prof. Bob Martens in a relaxed atmosphere over a glass of wine and snacks.  

Training and further education as important tools

Particularly in times of crisis, the special relevance of sound training is also evident, especially in the current example of the real estate industry. In addition to technical skills and market knowledge, legal and business skills are essential to maneuver your own company back into safer waters, especially in rough seas in times of crisis. The TU Academy for Continuing Education (ACE) offers two courses, the "MSc Real Estate Investment & Valuation" and the academic course "Real Estate Management", which provide existing or prospective captains of the real estate industry with exactly the right tools to get them safely to their destination, even in difficult times.