Data quality, standardisation, and artificial intelligence have emerged as critical factors in redefining real estate fund management success.
A recent study by Vistra Fund Solutions uncovers a seismic shift in real estate fund management, driven by the critical convergence of data quality, governance, and technology.
Financial and performance reporting was revealed to be the top priority among the study's respondents as they rank this as the area most in need of high-quality data, especially among larger firms.
In the APAC region, financial and performance reporting dominate as the top priority for high-quality data, cited far more frequently than other data needs, signalling growing investor sophistication and complex cross-border capital flows.
The report, which was based on a global survey of over 165 real estate investment professionals, identifies data standardisation and governance as mission-critical, with AI and predictive analytics now at the forefront of innovation.
However, it was found that legacy systems, fragmented data, and compliance hurdles are threatening to hold back sector-wide transformation.
Data quality has been tagged as a growing problem. For fund managers, macroeconomic pressures are no longer the sole challenge, as inadequate data quality has emerged as a significant barrier to both capital raising and effective portfolio management.
According to the report, the ability to utilise reliable, high-quality data is becoming ever more critical for building investor confidence and maintaining a competitive advantage.
Among other key insights from the report are:
- Data quality is make or break: Despite 90% of respondents rating their data as “good” or “excellent”, nearly two-thirds of real estate managers surveyed admit that poor data has already restricted their ability to raise capital or forced them to abandon strategies altogether.
- Lack of standardisation is eroding confidence: Differences in charts of accounts and inconsistent data formats are slowing down processes, creating errors, and undermining investor confidence at a time when transparency is paramount.
- AI’s promise depends on governance: AI and other tools are becoming increasingly important across the real estate value chain, but their effectiveness is dependent on clean, standardised, and well-governed data.
The findings of this report highlight that unreliable data can hinder strategic initiatives, limit fundraising activities, and erode trust among stakeholders. Nonetheless, improvements in transparency—driven by the evolution of third-party platforms—offer hope for a more resilient and efficient market.
