if data is the new oil of the digital economy analytics is the combustion engine square yards is leading this data analyticsdriven revolution in real estate through the launch of credible data intelligence related to historic price points across localities and developer projects would this latest offering give a new lease of life to realty marketslearnings from the pasthistory has important lessons for the real estate space one such learning is from the 2008 financial crisis in the us that was aggravated by the pricing crash in the housing segment the root cause of the problem was the prevalent information asymmetry in real estate markets which resulted in homebuyers underestimating the mortgage risk and financiers ending up with a poor understanding of the true financial situation of the borrowers and massive subprime loan portfolios we believe that one of the key reasons why a vast and heterogeneous sector like real estate has faced bottlenecks in realising its full potential is the lack of reliable data intelligence capabilities says tanuj shori founder and ceo square yards true that information asymmetry is a structural problem that constrains market liquidity causes suboptimal property selection and carries with it moral hazards the information opaqueness can reduce the bargaining power of home buyers and property owners and leave them at a disadvantageous position during negotiations related to property prices valuations and rentals it has thus become imperative to bring in data capabilities in real estate transactions data as the panacea to realty woesdespite property being a widely transacted asset class in india it has always lagged in terms of the availability of authentic data related to past transactions and historic price points the absence of a uniform data repository has exposed the realty sector to multiple inefficiencies especially incomplete information and limited price transparency studies indicate that information asymmetry is present at almost every stage of transaction in real estate in fact while searching for a new apartment there is a high probability that the quoted property price or rental charges far exceeds the actual intrinsic value or deserving rent for a particular locality or a developer project no wonder everything real estate ends up being so pricey lets consider a comparison for better understanding the capital markets provide investors and shareholders with extensive information connected to equity share prices including the peak prices and quantum of shares sold much of this information is then deployed in technical analysis of stocks the study of past price patterns and aids in forecasting future price movements in fact to safeguard against privileged information access to a select few capital market regulators stipulate stringent rules and regulations to punish insider trading and discourage related malpractices now imagine if such depth and volume of data related to past transactions and pricing were available in the real estate space this is exactly what square yards is trying to do enabling data democratizationreliable data intelligence readily accessible to one and all for quick reference with price bands to fall back upon