MONOPOLY® is the most popular board game in history, played by 500 million

people around the world since its release in 1935. “The real estate trading game” introduced the value—and thrill—of buying and selling realestate to the general public. With every move of a thimble or top hat token, a player quicklydetermined whether a potential investmentwas worth the purchase price of the property. Monopoly promoted the notion of acquiring wealth through real estate.

For today’s investors, the estimated $4trillion value of the U.S. commercial real es-tate marketplace represents real wealth—not Monopoly money. In the past, only a handful of real estate titans had access to proprietary information and the means to acquire real es-tate. It was an exclusive “game” with only a few players. That has now changed. Listing websites have almost completely supplanted predigital methods of marketing and identifying proper-ties for sale, providing greater knowledge and access to the industry.

Today, a wealth of real-time data on prop-erties—including physical attributes, rentalincome, local market data, and macroeconomic trends—is catalogued on digital platforms like

Ten-X. This creates a massive data aggregate that not only details the story of an individual building, but also provides insight into the pulse of the local market. This unprecedented ability to capture and synthesize information opens the door to an entirely new era of advancedanalytics. Data and data science don’t just measure the real estate exchange. They drive it.

The broader market implications of trans-parent real estate data can hardly be over-stated, and the effects will be felt by all market participants, from institutions to investors and their brokers and advisors. Soon, we’ll be able to gauge buyer and seller intent and motiva-tion by property type and geography, thusallowing us to more easily facilitate connectionsbetween the right buyers and sellers andprovide valuable insights to their brokers and advisors. Data makes real estate more acces-sible, creating a new base of skilled investors andadvisors that would otherwise not exist.

Active and informed participants will bring greater liquidity to the real estate market. As a comparison, look no further than the equity markets, where technology has enabled inves-tors and advisors to research and trade stocks in markets throughout the world with only a few

clicks. In 1952, only 4.2 percent of the American population owned stocks; today, that number is over 50 percent. These online exchanges have turned investing in the equity markets from a tool for the financial elite into an everyday consumer experience. Real estate has long lagged behind the equity markets when it comes to this democratization of data, but it is on thecusp of changing.

Simplifying elements of the real estatetransaction process that are inherently com-plex—things like market trend assessment, risk quantification, sales comparables, and due diligence materials—will equip more people to invest with confidence. Those that once felt shut out from the seemingly exclusive realestate exchanges and their advisors will soon be empowered to participate in the market. This process of transitioning passive (or latent) demand to active demand in real estate will vastly broaden the pool of participants—truly a rising tide that lifts all boats in the industry.

The proliferation of easily accessibleinformation online has had a seismic effect on nearly every aspect of American life. On our mobile devices we connect, we interact, and we transact. Data is creating savvy consumers everywhere, and real estate is no exception. For years, real estate data has been inacces-sible, but in order to succeed in the future, we will need to embrace data transparency.This will open the door to a whole new world of investing. And don’t forget to collect $200 as you pass GO.

GAME CHANGERDATA TRANSPARENCY IS TRANSFORMING COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONSTim Morse, CEO and Director, Ten-X

IT’S TIME YOUR WORLDS METYou live in the world of commercial real estate. You build, you buy, you sell.

But you also live in the world of technology. You connect, you interact, you transact.

Welcome to the only platform with the power of a global distribution network. Where every day thousands of buyers, sellers, and brokers gain unmatched access, deeper insight, and superior execution to seamlessly handle their commercial real estate transactions.

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