Property data is all the information that describes a property and how it is used: register details, areas and units, leases, finance, energy and operations. In most property companies it is spread across several systems and a large number of Excel files. Moving from Excel to real-time property data is not about throwing out the spreadsheets. It is about keeping the core data in one place, connecting the systems and letting Excel become an analysis tool instead of a database. Below we go through the types of property data, where property management in Excel falls short and how to move forward step by step.
What is property data?
The term is used in two ways. Sometimes it means the public information about a property, such as owner, property designation and tax assessment value. For a property owner it is broader: all the data needed to manage and let the portfolio.
| Type of property data | Examples | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Register data | Property designation, land area, rights, addresses | Lantmäteriet's property register |
| Buildings and areas | Buildings, floors, units, lettable area | Drawings, BIM, area register |
| Leases | Tenant, rent, indexation, term, notice period | Rent invoicing or property management system |
| Finance | Income, operating costs, investments, net operating income | Finance system |
| Energy and operations | Electricity, heating, water, alarms, temperatures | Meters, control systems, sensors |
| Energy performance | Energy class, energy use per square metre | Boverket's energy performance certificates |
| Letting | Vacant units, enquiries, viewings | CRM, letting tools, email |
| Market | Market rents, vacancy rates, transactions | Published reports from brokers and industry bodies |
Public sources of property data
Two public agencies are particularly useful for property owners:
- Lantmäteriet (the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority). The property register holds information on properties, owners, addresses, buildings, rights and registrations. The data can be obtained as files or via API under a licence agreement, directly from Lantmäteriet or through resellers.
- Boverket (the national board of housing, building and planning). Energy performance certificates are held in a national register, and Boverket offers a free API for energy performance certificates that lets companies pull basic data directly into their own systems.
Public data gives a stable foundation, but most of what drives profitability, such as leases, costs and operations data, exists only in your own systems.
Property management in Excel: strengths and weaknesses
Excel is not the problem in itself. It is flexible, everyone can use it and it is excellent for analysis, calculations and one-off questions. The problems start when the spreadsheet becomes the only place where important information lives.
Common signs that Excel has become a bottleneck:
- The same fact (for example a unit's area or a tenant's lease expiry) exists in several files with different values.
- The monthly report takes days to produce and is out of date when it is done.
- One or two people know how the files fit together, and nobody wants them on holiday at the same time.
- Nobody can say exactly which units will be vacant in three months without calling around.
- Formulas break when someone adds a row, and the error is only found at year-end.
The last one is not hypothetical: spreadsheet errors are a well-documented phenomenon in all financial reporting, and the risk grows with the size of the file and the number of users.
What does real-time property data mean?
Real time does not mean everything has to update every second. Different data has different rhythms:
- Seconds to minutes: energy, temperature, alarms and access. Here real time delivers real value, for example to detect faults or adjust heating to occupancy.
- Daily: vacancies, new enquiries, cases and fault reports. Here it is enough that the data is current when someone needs it.
- Monthly: financial results, net operating income and budget follow-up. Here what matters most is that the figures are correct and come from the same source every time.
The goal is therefore not real time everywhere, but that every piece of data has an owner and a source and is updated as often as the decision requires. Which metrics are worth tracking is covered in our article on KPIs for property companies.
From Excel to integrated property data: step by step
1. Map where the data lives
List which systems and files hold properties, units, leases, costs and operations data, and who updates them. Most companies are surprised by how many sources there are.
2. Define the core data and shared ids
Every property, building, unit and lease needs an unambiguous id used in every system. Also agree on definitions: what counts as lettable area, when a unit is vacant, how net operating income is calculated. Without that, integrations just spread errors faster.
3. Choose one home for each piece of data
Leases belong in the lease system, costs in the finance system and meter data in the operations system. Excel can read from them but should not be the source.
4. Connect via APIs and standards
Modern systems have APIs that let data move automatically. For operations data there are open standards such as RealEstateCore, a shared data language for buildings developed by Swedish property owners in 2018. Choosing systems that follow open standards reduces the risk of vendor lock-in.
5. Start with one use case
Pick an area where better data pays off quickly, such as energy monitoring or a vacancy overview, and build from there. Large programmes that try to solve everything at once are the ones that most often stall.
6. Keep Excel where it is best
Once the core data sits in the right systems, Excel or a BI tool becomes a good way to analyse it. The difference is that the analysis always starts from the same numbers.
Example: vacant premises straight from your system
Letting is a clear example of what integrated property data delivers. In many companies, information about a vacant unit is entered by hand in several channels: your own website, listing sites, broker mailings. Every copy has to be updated when something changes, and outdated units often linger.
With Shace you can publish vacant premises directly from your own system via API. When a unit is let or its details change, your system sends the update through the same connection, and you receive qualified enquiries from companies that have described what they are looking for. More ways to shorten the time between notice and a new lease are covered in the guide on how to reduce your vacancy rate.
Once the data is in place, the next step gets easier
Organised property data is also the prerequisite for most of what is discussed as the future of property management: energy optimisation, automated reporting and AI. Where AI actually delivers value is covered in our article on AI and proptech in real estate, and the broader challenges are in the overview of the real estate industry's challenges.
Frequently asked questions
What is property data?
Property data is information that describes a property and how it is used: register details, buildings and areas, leases, finance, energy and operations. Public data is available from Lantmäteriet and Boverket, among others, while leases and operations data sit in the property owner's own systems.
Where can I find public property data in Sweden?
Lantmäteriet's property register contains information on properties, owners, buildings and rights and can be ordered as files or via API. Boverket provides energy performance certificates through a search service and a free API.
Can you run property management in Excel?
For a small portfolio it works, but the risks grow with the number of properties and users: duplicate data, formula errors and dependence on individuals. Most companies keep Excel for analysis but move the core data to systems that can be connected.
Does all property data need to be real time?
No. Energy and alarms benefit from real time, vacancies and cases need to be current daily, and financial follow-up can be monthly. What matters is that each piece of data has a source and an owner.
Want your vacant premises to reach the right tenants straight from your own system? Learn more about Shace for landlords.