One of the distinguishing characteristics of real estate is the fact it is "fixed in location." As such, the ability to analyze the spatial context is critical to understanding the value proposition of real estate. Despite the fixed nature of a site, location should be vieweed in dynamic context, one that is based on market participants' perceptions of the relevant environs and linkages associated with a site. Advances in spatial visualization and dramatic increases in access to data have had a transformational impact on real estate market analysis. The objective if this page it to highlight some of these advances and identify some key sources that can provide additional insights into the spatial elements of real estate. In addition to providing examples of visualizations, this page also identifies some free resources that provide insights into the spatial context of real estate.

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Tableau for Teaching

Tableau has established free licenses for students and instructors to encougage adoption of its software. The program requires verification of academic status. To learn more, visit Tableau for Teaching. Tableau has an extensive set of tutorials and support materials. For an introductory tutorial I prepared for my students, see: Introduction to Tableau for Real Estate-DeLisle.

We've received some great feedback from uses and have decided to share some of your suggestions. Hopefully, we can start a community of analysts and vizzers. Kicking this off are some suggetions from Lisa Jo Elliott including:

Check out where our recent Analytics & Vizzes visitors are at in a spatial sense as we try to break down the spatial divide and create a global community of AVs in real estate and across disciplines....

<-- Click for link to Tableau Public Tableau Public is a free version of Tableua through which users can publicly share and explore data visualizations online. Without having to do any coding, users can create interactive graphs, maps, and live dashboards. Data connections include standard software such as Excel, CSV, and Google Sheets. All infrastructure is managed by Tableau Public at no cost, providing access to vizzes to millions of viewers across the globe. To learn how to use Tablaeu Public, a series of instructional videos can be accessed at Tableau Public Resources. If you scroll down on this page, you can see some of the Tableau Public Vizzes I have created using Open Data sources.

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<-- Click for link to XMind 8 XMind is a mind-mapping and brainstorming tool that can be used to support design and critical thinking. In an academic setting, it can be used to organize course materials, projects, and other concepts in a dynamic, creative manner. Several commercial versions are available that run on different platforms and may be of interest. However, a fairly fully functional version of XMind 8 is available for free for all users. Users can access customized mind maps that have been prepared by others as well as create their own maps. For an introductory XMind 8 Tutorial, see: XMind 8 Tutorial. I have also prepared a brief XMind Video to get you started and show you some advanced applications.

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<-- Click for link to SketchUp for Web

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<-- Click for link to GeoDa

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<-- Click for link to Google Earth Pro The desktop version of Google Earth Pro is free for users with advanced feature needs including the ability to import and export GIS data, go back in time with historical imagery, and share scientific or spatial data and maps. An example of third party layers is Zillow Neighborhoods, which includes shape files for over 7,000 neighborhoods across the country. These and other layers can be toggled on or off depending on project needs.

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<-- Click for link to the Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool is a great resource for assessing environmental quality of small geographic areas. Sites can be accessed by address or an interactive map. Once a site is selected, Generate Reports. For more information on how to use this site, click on EJSCREEN Help.

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<-- Click here for link to Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) This is a key website that allows users to download, graph, and track 767,000 US and international time series from 102 unique sources of data.

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This list is a list of some of my initial public Tableau vizzes that illustrate how Tableua can be used to provide insights into spatial patterns across an array of datasets. The underlying data were accessed from the KCMO Open Data Portal. Similar data are available from government sources across the globe so we invite you to explore and share your vizzes.

• Kansas City MO Traffic Counts This is a visualization I created using the OPENDATA KC portal and Tableau.

• The KC 311 Call Dashboard allows users to track 311 calls (i.e., citizen-based queries) regarding a range of public and private property issues with over 310,880 issued through July 2016.
• KC Building Permit Activity: 2016 (3 counties) presents year-to-date permits by type, by county.
• KC Crime Reports: 2016 provides a detailed listing of crime reports including over 64,000 reports through July 10, 2016.
• KC Grocery Marts: 2015 identifies 437 food establishments that were licensed by KCMO and inspected regularly by the Food Protection Program.
• This is a link to an interactive KC Landbank Properties: 2016 presents 5,589 properties in the Land Bank.
  
• KC Vacant Failure to Register Violations: 2010-2016 contains an interactive map of outstanding property violations.

This is a non-commercial site; it does not collect and distribute personal information about visitors for commercial gain. The objective of this site is to distribute materials and content to help advance real estate education and practice. The inclusion or exclusion of any sources is not an endorsement or commentary on the services they offer; the information is offered as part of an educational outreach initiative.

We will be adding new resources so please check back. If you have suggestions, please Contact Me.