The Hidden Advantage

In multifamily brokerage, deals may be closed in the boardroom, but they’re often won in the back office. Behind every confident broker pitch is an analyst armed with a toolbox of technology — tools that transform raw property data into actionable market intelligence. The right stack doesn’t just support the brokerage team; it powers them, turning numbers into narratives and information into deal-winning insights.

Section 1: RedIQ – Standardizing and Strengthening the Inputs

Every deal begins with financials that are rarely uniform — T-12s, rent rolls, and operating statements that all come in different formats. RedIQ streamlines this process by automatically processing and organizing those inputs into a clean, consistent format.

But it does more than save time. By structuring the data, RedIQ allows analysts to pull real operating numbers as comps, giving underwriting a higher level of conviction and accuracy. This means our brokerage team isn’t just running scenarios — we’re grounding our assumptions in actual performance data, which builds confidence internally and credibility with clients.

Section 2: Yardi – Cross-Referencing for Accuracy

Market data is never perfect, but Yardi provides the depth needed to validate assumptions. At Colliers, we layer Yardi’s datasets against CoStar and internal research, stress-testing assumptions and identifying inconsistencies. This cross-referencing reinforces the credibility of our underwriting and gives our clients added confidence that every figure has been validated from multiple angles. By applying Yardi’s data in proprietary ways — combining it with our internal analytics and reporting — we create outputs that clients can use in their decision-making and circulate within their own organizations, multiplying the value of our work.

Section 3: CoStar – Exporting and Structuring Market Data

CoStar remains the workhorse for property research, ownership information, and comparable sales. Its strength lies in the breadth of its datasets and its ability to quickly export into templates that support Colliers’ financial models and offering materials. This efficiency allows our team to bring opportunities to market faster and with greater precision than many competitors. And when combined with Yardi and our proprietary modeling, CoStar’s data is transformed into customized collateral that clients often share with colleagues and partners — extending Colliers’ reach and reinforcing our role as a trusted market resource. While no dataset is flawless, CoStar’s scale makes it indispensable for establishing context — ownership trends, absorption patterns, and market-level insights — which analysts then refine through cross-checking with Yardi and other tools.

Section 4: Excel – The Analyst’s Canvas

If RedIQ, Yardi, and CoStar are the paints and brushes, Excel is the canvas where the full picture comes together. Despite the explosion of CRE-specific software, Excel remains the single most versatile tool in the analyst’s tool box — the place where raw data transforms into insights, strategies, and client-ready deliverables.

At the core of our process is a proprietary underwriting model built in Excel. T-12s and rent rolls processed through RedIQ flow directly into this model, where assumptions are layered in and scenarios are tested. From there, the model connects seamlessly to our Broker Opinion of Value (BOV) and Offering Memorandum (OM) templates, enabling quick exports that marketing can push into InDesign. The result: underwriting that doesn’t just sit in a spreadsheet, but directly powers the client-facing materials brokers use to win business.

Excel’s role extends well beyond underwriting. It serves as a deal flow management hub, tracking active opportunities, pipeline stages, and outcomes across the team. It doubles as a data warehouse, housing key research and historical deal metrics that can be repurposed for pitches and comps. It even underpins our internal Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), supporting team scorecards, accountability charts, and meeting rhythms.

The flexibility of Excel is what makes it indispensable. No matter how many specialized platforms enter the market, analysts always return to Excel because it adapts to the way we work, not the other way around. In skilled hands, it becomes more than a spreadsheet — it’s the central nervous system of the brokerage team, powering both the numbers behind the deal and the operational rhythm that keeps the business moving forward.

Section 5: Supporting Tools – Enhancing the Workflow

Beyond the core four, analysts rely on a suite of supporting tools:
– MSCI/Real Capital Analytics (RCA): Tracking capital flows and sales trends.
– RealPage: Benchmarking operations and expenses.
– Land Vision: Site-level research and geographic visualization.
– AI Tools & Microsoft Suite: Drafting reports, structuring models, and creating marketing content.
– Microsoft Planner: Organizing workflows and coordinating with brokers.

Together, these tools extend the stack, bridging analysis with execution.

Section 6: Knowing Isn’t Doing – Turning Tools Into Outcomes

Even the most advanced toolbox is only as valuable as its application. Analysts don’t just collect data — they translate it into outputs the brokerage team can actually use in the field. A rent roll export from RedIQ becomes the backbone of a valuation. A CoStar dataset becomes a client-ready ownership map. An underwriting model in Excel becomes a polished OM that brokers carry into the market.

This is the critical bridge: knowing isn’t doing. Data on its own is inert. It only creates value when it’s shaped into something brokers can put in front of clients with confidence. The analyst’s role is to ensure that every data point and every model has a clear path to application, where insight becomes execution and information becomes deal flow.

The Analyst as Force Multiplier

In multifamily brokerage, a great analyst will have a tech stack that is more than a back-office efficiency plan – it’s their force multiplier for the entire team. They can take messy numbers, cross-reference for accuracy, and weave them all together on their Excel canvas, turning them into exciting stories of opportunities and hidden value. This artwork allows brokers to perform with speed, accuracy, and credibility needed to win the business.

The future of brokerage won’t be defined by who has the best tools or most advanced AI, but who applies them the most effectively. The analyst’s toolbox is best when it moves seamlessly from knowledge to action – from RedIQ spreadsheets to InDesign-ready presentations. From Yardi rent comps to client strategies and from data points to signed contracts.

Ultimately, the analyst isn’t just supporting the deal; they’re powering it. At Colliers, this integration of tools and expertise is part of what makes our brokerage platform so effective. Our analysts and brokers operate as one seamless team, giving clients the confidence that every recommendation is grounded in rigorous analysis and every decision is supported by actionable insight. In a competitive multifamily brokerage landscape, that difference often determines who wins the business — and why so many clients choose to work with Colliers.