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[August 15, 2024] True Entity Ownership, Investor Flag, and Enhanced Property Search

4 months ago by ReadMe API

v0.16.0

Parcl Labs has launched a new, enhanced property search endpoint. We've also added new true entity mapping accessibility via both the new property search and events endpoints.

True Entity Owner and Investor Flag Update

Parcl Labs introduces industry-leading True Entity Ownership tracking in real estate. Our technology maps corporate entities to their LLCs and individual properties, revealing true ownership structures. Additionally, we've implemented a broader investor identification system at the property-level that goes beyond just the tracked entities.

Initial entity launch includes:

  • Top Public REITs: Invitation Homes (INVH), American Homes 4 Rent (AMH)
  • Blackstone portfolio: Tricon Residential, Home Partners of America

Integration in New Property Search Endpoint

  • New search parameter: Filter properties by current ownership of specific operator entities (AMH, TRICON, INVITATION_HOMES, HOME_PARTNERS_OF_AMERICA)
  • Additional parameter to filter for all investor-owned properties, regardless of specific entity
  • Response includes current ownership insights for each property

Integration in Property Events Endpoint

New Investor Fields in Property Events:

  1. investor_flag: Boolean flag indicating if the property is owned by any type of investor at the time of the event. This flag identifies all investor-owned properties, not just those owned by tracked entities. Please reference our investor methodology here: https://docs.parcllabs.com/reference/investor-metrics-1
  2. entity_owner_name: The name of the entity that owns the property at the time of the event, if owned by a named large-scale operator.
    • Name of true corporate owner if tracked and available (AMH, TRICON, INVITATION_HOMES, HOME_PARTNERS_OF_AMERICA)
    • NULL if not a tracked entity or not investor-owned

While the investor_flag identifies all investor-owned properties, the entity_owner_name specifically identifies ownership by the tracked large-scale operators.

Impact:

  • Reveals true corporate ownership at each property event
  • Enables tracking of institutional investor activities
  • Facilitates analysis of corporate ownership impact on real estate markets
  • Provides broader insights into investor activity beyond just tracked entities

Note: Entity coverage will expand over time. Other top institutional SFR operators are on the immediate roadmap.

New Property Search Endpoint

After a month in beta, our property-level data API has evolved significantly based on valuable user feedback. We're excited to introduce a new, much more powerful property search endpoint that addresses key user needs and provides unprecedented flexibility and depth in property data retrieval.

What’s New

  • Flexibility: Search across more market types (not just ZIP) with greater precision, allowing for both broad market analysis and pinpoint property identification.
  • Complete Results: Get information on all units within a market boundary, not just those with recent events.
  • Insights at a Glance: Receive analytics and location data for each unit, enabling informed decisions before retrieving full event histories.

Detailed Improvements:

  1. Expanded Search Capabilities
    • Search all properties within any of the API's 70,000 market boundaries via parcl_id
      • This includes zip codes, cities, counties, metros, etc.
    • Implement precise property parameters for targeted results:
      • Physical attributes (e.g., bedrooms, bathrooms, age, square footage, property type)
      • Event history flags (sale, rental, listing)
      • New construction status
      • Owner occupancy status
      • Investor ownership status
      • Current ownership by specific operator entities: AMH, TRICON, INVITATION_HOMES, HOME_PARTNERS_OF_AMERICA
    • Combine multiple parameters for highly specific searches
  2. Enhanced Response
    • Receive full information for ALL units matching criteria within the parcl_id boundary
      • This includes units without recorded events from 2010 to present, significantly expanding coverage
    • Each unit in the response includes:
      • Detailed property physical characteristics
      • Precise geolocation
      • Complete address information
      • Full location hierarchy
      • Property analytics:
        • Event count within current API history (2010-current)
        • Presence of sale/listing/rental events in 2010-current history
        • Current ownership status insights (owner-occupied, investor-owned, specific entity ownership)
  3. Streamlined Workflow
    • Use returned data to efficiently refine units for subsequent event history retrieval
    • More effectively calibrate results based on event types before querying full histories
    • Estimate API credit usage before querying the events endpoint

Important Notes

  • The existing endpoint (https://api.parcllabs.com/v1/property/search_markets) will be deprecated in 3-4 weeks. We recommend transitioning to the new endpoint as soon as possible.
  • Property information (physical attributes) will be removed from the events endpoint after the transition period. This change creates a more focused experience across endpoints. Reach out if you have any questions or need help during this transition.