ISO 9001 | Regulated by RICS

Economic Intelligence Unit

Our Economic Intelligence Unit Team provides a practical research service, designed to meet the needs of the real estate practitioner, and help them solve their real estate problems and explore opportunities. It marries market research with real estate knowledge so that we can provide property owners with practical solutions to the challenges they face in today’s rapidly changing world.

We are experiencing an information revolution; thanks to constant advances in technology the world now has access to an overwhelming volume of information. To stay on top of their business, managers have to know when change is occurring and to act on it quickly. Intelligent decisions must be informed, based on factual research not just intuition. Our Economic Intelligence Unit is an information based research and analysis service which is timely, focussed and complete.

We have provided real estate counselling and valuation advice throughout Atlantic Canada since 1976. We understand the local real estate markets of our region. Over that time, we have built our IT platform Compuval®, into a family of intelligent databases capable of communicating with each other and analysing data “on the fly”. Compuval® is armed with Geographic Information System (GIS) capability so that we can view, and analyse, the data spatially. Compuval® can exchange information with external databases across the Internet. We have also developed a network of superb contacts within the real estate industry. Our location in Halifax gives us access to six universities for recruitment, education, post graduate training and resources.

Fees

We believe that our clients should know what our services will cost before we commence the assignment: there should be no surprises! We therefore enter into a written contract which clearly specifies the scope and the cost of the work.

Economic Intelligence Unit Services

We offer the following Economic Intelligence services:

• Market Surveys – we survey over thirty four million square feet of office and industrial space in the six major centres of Atlantic Canada on a semi-annual basis for the Federal Government. These End Data Systems™ surveys, the most comprehensive ever undertaken in Atlantic Canada, are available in electronic format to interested clients. We also conduct custom market surveys on all types of real estate in Atlantic Canada.
• Site Selection – using our Geographic Information System (GIS), we analyse property land information, topographic, economic and planning data, and a range of other mappable data sources, to efficiently narrow down potential sites in order to short list the properties that best meet our clients’ needs.
• Trade Area Analysis– we use our GIS to model the primary, secondary and tertiary trade areas of a proposed location … and its impact on trade areas of competing, existing locations … then analyse the economic and demographic data, to make sure the new location is the optimum venue within the marketplace.
• Supply & Demand Analysis– we undertake supply and demand surveys for all types of real estate (e.g. office space, housing, retail, etc.) to make sure market conditions support a proposed new development in a particular place at a particular time.
• Demographic Reports – we provide expert analysis and interpretation of location specific demographic data, and report on its implications for your project. We can also provide a SWOT Analysis, an in depth analysis of the strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This is an inexpensive opinion for developers (and/or their financiers) seeking assurance that sufficient demand exists for their proposed project … and that its target market is aligned with the site’s catchment area. We also include (without charge) the background data on which we base our analysis.
• Impact Analysis – what impact will a proposed landfill, wind farm, quarry, aquaculture facility, electrical transmission line, high rise apartment complex, airport etc. have on neighbourhood occupancy, price and rental values? NIMBY, though understandable, is sometimes driven more by fear than fact. We deploy our Geographic Information Systems (GIS), property sales and rental databases to cut through the rhetoric and get to the facts.
• Economic Analysis – what is the economic state of the Central Business District, shopping district, business, industrial or retail park, office campus, residential or multi-family neighbourhood, Waterfront Development Area? What are the drivers of economic activity? Are they stable, getting stronger or weaker? What are the real estate, business and employment trends? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats? How does the area compare with similar benchmark areas? This type of analysis informs the municipality, province, economic partnership or development authority on the economic state and future potential of the area.