As proptech firms search for data evangelists, the likes of which have drastically changed real estate, Wall Street is ready to pay big bucks for transformative information.
Alternative data–often obscure, custom-sourced data sets–are selling for tens of thousands of dollars among hedge funds looking for an edge, according to CNBC. As of 2016, buying research accounted for transactions valuing about $200 million and business volume was expected to double by 2021.
“We live in a world where if you connect to the right database, you could know anything you want about the economy,” Tammer Kamel, who heads up data company Quandl, told CNBC.
As The Real Deal recently reported, the rise of interest in buying data has resulted in potential new revenue streams for real estate companies that either add data analysis to their offerings or straight-up proptech firms. The latter saw $18.6 billion in VC funding pour in between 2015 and 2017. [CNBC]