Contents
1. Is There a Single Source? II
2. CenterAmerica Connects to the Web

1. Is There a Single Source? II ... I received a variety of responses to the April 15 Dispatch that raised the question: Why isn't there a singe source of real estate information (for example, in Silicon Valley)? ... Ward Caswell at Torto Wheaton Research recommended TWR's newly designed E-Store with downloadable market reports in Adobe Acrobat format. TWR's Single Market Outlooks are generally available for $695 each and include forecasted rents by submarket. The TWR Select allows you to select and compare properties within and between markets using dozens of variables. Torto Wheaton is offering TWR Select at an introductory price of $25 per query, an attractive price for quality data.

Wally Papciak of COMPS.COM suggested E-COMPS online for "thousands of sales comparables for nine property types and over a hundred use codes for the Silicon Valley." ... Kim Allio of the Weitzman Group in San Antonio uses a wide variety of web sites for her research. These include CIRE Data (a subscription service for Bexar County), Texas A&M's Real Estate Center at recenter.tamu.edu, the Wall Street Research Network and CEO Express.

2. CenterAmerica Connects to the Web... We've all heard how you should connect your web site to your accounting system to avoid double entry of data. Well, CenterAmerica Property Trust, a REIT specializing in neighborhood shopping centers located in TX and FL, does just that. Here's how Garth Wells, who worked on the site, describes it: "The bulk (95%) of the data you see is loaded from their accounting package (MRI) using the new DTS functionality in SQL Server 7. So, we use data that is already maintained for accounting purposes to create a data-driven web site that should help CenterAmerica reduce its vacancy rate...The GLA, tenants, square footage and Leasing Agent are being extracted from MRI as this information changes the most. Since MRI is just an accounting package, it does not care about demographics so we add this to the Center-level information. Same with the photos."

--Peter Pike