
By Ryan Hartsell, SIOR, and Chase McAteer, SIOR
There was a time when commercial real estate deals could be done with little more than a handshake, a phone call, and an agent’s market knowledge. That approach still exists in some corners of the industry, but the industry has changed. Today, data and technology are critical tools in every phase of the process. At Oxford Partners, we view tech-driven due diligence as a crucial means of adding value for our clients.
Technology now informs site selection, customer targeting, labor analysis, negotiations, and even the review of lease documents. It allows tenants and buyers to move beyond guesswork and anecdote to make decisions based on verifiable patterns. The earlier we are involved in a client’s process, the more we can leverage these tools to shape outcomes.
Labor data: the foundation of smarter site selection
Real estate costs are a significant line item on a company’s P&L, but labor is often the larger expense. Recruiting, retaining, and paying employees usually outweighs rent. That reality is why labor data has become a central component of real estate strategy.
When a client is considering relocation or expansion, we examine the availability and cost of the labor pool. This analysis utilizes Standard Occupational Classifications (SOCs) to identify target roles (CPAs, civil engineers, or mid-level professionals) and map the locations where these employees reside. We then layer in information about wages: which submarkets offer competitive rates, and where wages are too high to be sustainable.
We also analyze employment rates and labor pool depth. This data can be visualized in heat maps showing exactly where prospective employees live and what they earn. If a client hopes to hire 100 engineers, but the available pool in a given area is only 30, that market may not be viable. It may make sense to pay more in rent for a location with access to a deeper labor pool.
Helping clients understand how labor availability and costs affect site selection is critical. HR expenses often surpass real estate costs, and failure to attract or retain talent can be more damaging than paying a higher lease rate.
Customer behavior and market demand
On the other side of the equation is the customer base. This analysis is most common in retail, but it is also increasingly affecting decisions in office, industrial, and healthcare settings.
Using cell phone data, demographic profiles, and mosaic profiles, we can analyze where customers reside, their income levels, commuting patterns, and how they allocate their time. This data can be mapped and segmented into behavioral clusters that illustrate not only who the customers are, but also how they behave.
Oxford utilizes over 50,000 data points to visualize customer behavior. In practice, this means we ask clients: If you could know anything about your customer base, what would it be? With that information, we can build maps that highlight areas where the client’s ideal customers live and spend their time.
Discretionary spending analysis adds another dimension. Beyond income levels, we can examine how customers allocate their discretionary dollars. For example, if a firm wants to target mid-level CPAs, we can identify where those professionals live, determine whether competitors are nearby, and measure the amount of discretionary spending in that area that goes toward CPA services. If there is a dense labor pool, limited competition, and high discretionary spending on those services, that area may be the most strategic place to locate.
The approach can be applied to healthcare, childcare, Medicare, Medicaid, or virtually any category of consumer spending.
Market conditions and infrastructure
Traditional market considerations remain essential. In Houston, flood risk is always a concern. In other cities, zoning and permitted use can delay or block a deal.
In one case, a client evaluating a flex property in San Antonio discovered that the site was zoned for light industrial, even though most of the existing tenants were using their spaces for office operations. The client’s intended use was also office, consistent with the rest of the property, but zoning restrictions still required them to petition the city council for reclassification. Identifying issues like this early in the process is crucial, as zoning hurdles can delay projects or prevent deals from progressing.
Infrastructure and expansion patterns also play a role. Industrial users may require free trade zones, rail access, or locations along the path of population growth. Housing starts and master-planned communities indicate where demand is heading. For industrial clients that serve developers, proximity to future development activity is imperative.
Multi-location expansion strategies
When companies enter a new market, they often want more than a single location. They want to know how many locations a market can support, where they should be placed, and how far apart they should be spaced.
Oxford creates these roadmaps by combining all of the data points (labor pools, customer behavior, infrastructure, spending patterns, and more) into a profile of a successful location. We then replicate that profile across the new market, answering questions such as:
- How many sites should we open?
- How many miles apart should they be?
- Which submarkets offer the best alignment with our proven profile?
This process allows clients to expand quickly and confidently, reducing risk and accelerating growth.
Comps and negotiation leverage
Data also informs negotiation. In Texas, a non-disclosure state, public information is limited. Oxford maintains an internal comps database built from our own transactions, deals shared with friendly competitors, and platforms such as CompStak and Enriched Data.
This gives us visibility into recent lease and sales comps across Houston and beyond. When we negotiate on behalf of a client, we are aware of what other companies have secured in the same building or submarket. We can demonstrate not just that the deal is fair, but that it reflects the most favorable terms the market has recently delivered.
This transparency gives clients confidence that they are achieving the best possible outcome.
AI as a second set of eyes
Technology encompasses more than market data. Artificial intelligence now plays a role in how Oxford reviews leases and proposals.
Large language models act as a second set of eyes, scanning documents quickly and cross-checking negotiated proposals against final lease drafts. AI can flag terms that are missing, identify clauses that are written differently than expected, and suggest areas where further negotiation may be appropriate.
We also use AI for summarizing leases and creating abstracts that clients can reference later, making complex documents easier to understand and manage.
Internally, AI assists in agent training, helping us retrain our team on core topics like lease review and negotiation. By augmenting our own review processes, AI helps reduce human error and increases efficiency without replacing professional judgment.
A commitment to continuous improvement
New tech tools, datasets, and best practices are constantly emerging. At Oxford, we view this as an opportunity to improve the value we deliver to our clients.
Mapping labor pools, analyzing customer discretionary spending, anticipating zoning hurdles, and utilizing AI to review contracts are all part of our approach to staying at the forefront of technology. This focus makes our work more precise and efficient, while providing clients with a more transparent, faster, and more valuable process.
If your company is exploring a renewal, relocation, or expansion, Oxford Partners can help you make strategic, data-backed decisions. Reach out to us at info@oxfordcres.com, call (713) 647-6400, or submit the contact form below
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