Frequently asked questions

Parcl Labs is a Big Data and AI/ML-driven company specializing in real-time, context-based, and hyperlocal location data and insights, with a primary focus on residential real estate pricing analytics. We believe that real estate data should be accessible to everyone, and we are committed to developing products that make this data more readily available, including through user-friendly, insight-ready APIs.

Our premier data product, the Parcl Labs Price Feed, empowers customers to assess real-time supply and demand for residential real estate across various geographical levels. Our analytics set us apart from other real estate benchmarks, such as the Case-Shiller Index, as we deliver daily property prices for any location on a daily basis.

In addition to the Price Feed, we enhance our capabilities by incorporating a diverse range of data sources, covering demographics, points of interest, economic trends, climate, and more, providing a comprehensive understanding of the real estate landscape. By making data more accessible, we aim to help our customers make informed decisions and gain valuable insights into the real estate market.

Parcl Labs offers a wealth of data across various categories. Our data points include:

1. Residential Real Estate + Mortgage: We provide real-time price analytics, including our daily Parcl Labs Price Feed, market activity and trends, mortgage data, property attributes, and owner categories.
2. Demographics: Our platform includes people and economic data, all mapped to precise geolocations. This information covers income, employment, education, age, migration, and more, offering valuable insights into the population of specific areas.
3. Points of Interest + Geospatial: Parcl Labs provides data on points of interest, geospatial boundaries, building footprints, transportation, and public infrastructure.
4. News: Our platform analyzes trending topics, public sentiment, current events, organization-specific behavior, and emotion, all mapped to precise geolocations. We do this by ingesting millions of news articles every day, enabling you to stay informed about relevant news and developments.
5. Weather + Climate: Parcl Labs offers information on weather patterns, weather events, air quality ratings, and climate trends.

The Parcl Labs Price Feed (PLPF) is the only presently available daily estimate of price per square foot of residential real estate across multiple markets at varying geographies (States, Metros, Cities, etc.) that looks at all available transactions in a systematic and standardized way. The PLPF allows users to understand real-time price fluctuations of their markets with minimal lag and with an indicator (median ppsft) that is easy to understand and that can be used to compare more representatively with other markets.

The Parcl Labs Price Feed and the Case-Shiller Index are both tools for understanding real estate pricing trends, but they differ in several key aspects:

1. Timeliness: The Case-Shiller Index is a lagged indicator with a 2+ month delay, which means it may not accurately reflect the most recent market conditions. In contrast, the Parcl Labs Price Feed refreshes daily, giving you the most up-to-date insights into the residential real estate market.
2. Market Coverage: The Case-Shiller Index only represents a portion of the true market as it excludes new construction, substantially renovated houses, condominiums, co-ops, and possibly townhomes. It is also only available for 20 US markets at the very broad MSA level. Parcl Labs Price Feed, on the other hand, offers full market coverage, including all property types at varying geographies (States, Metros, Cities, etc.), for a more comprehensive view of the real estate landscape.
3. Methodology: The Case-Shiller Index is methodologically opaque, using a three-month moving average that can be difficult to replicate, even with identical data. The Parcl Labs Price Feed employs a transparent methodology, making it more reliable and easier to understand.
4. Data Sources: The Case-Shiller Index relies heavily on county records, which can take months to record sales, leading to discrepancies in the data due to varying latencies across over 3,000 counties in the United States. Parcl Labs Price Feed sources its data from a diverse range of sources, ensuring accuracy and consistency.

In summary, the Parcl Labs Price Feed offers more timely, comprehensive, and transparent information compared to the Case-Shiller Index, making it a valuable tool for those seeking accurate insights into the residential real estate market.

There are three ways to access the data provided by Parcl Labs:

1. Insight-ready API: Our API allows you to seamlessly integrate our real estate data and insights into your existing applications, tools, and platforms, providing real-time access to the information you need. Learn more here.
2. Custom bulk datasets: We collaborate with you to create custom datasets tailored to your specific requirements. This includes determining the variables, refresh schedule, and format that align with your needs, ensuring the data is relevant and useful for your purposes. Reach out to team@parcllabs.com to learn more.
3. Data-driven content: We regularly publish data-driven content on our blog to keep you informed about the latest trends and insights in the real estate market. Be sure to sign up for our blog updates to stay up to date with the most recent information. Sign up here.

Parcl Labs aims to make real estate and location data more accessible to everyone, both for those who already use it and for new use cases that could benefit from these insights but may have faced high barriers to access in the past. There are three main ways our customers use our data:

1. Enrich apps: Enhance your applications by integrating easily accessible location data points, providing users with engaging and informative experiences. For example, you can add a hyperlocal market price feed to your app interface in minutes, giving users real-time information on real estate trends in their chosen area.
2. Augment data science and financial models: Tap into our analytics ecosystem, specifically designed for machine learning applications, to improve your data science projects and financial models. For instance, you could create a predictive investment algorithm that identifies properties that meet your firm's investment criteria.
3. Strategic insights: Extract actionable insights from our data to inform your most important decisions, helping you make better choices based on comprehensive and up-to-date information. An example would be identifying a neighborhood to target for a marketing campaign based on real estate and demographic market factors, ensuring your efforts are tailored to the right audience.

Parcl Labs offers US nationwide data coverage at any level of geography and market.

Our self-service API currently contains a subset of US markets down to the city level. We are constantly expanding our coverage and adding new markets. If you'd like to request a specific market, please email us at team@parcllabs.com.

If you're interested in accessing more granular, nationwide data, our bulk or custom API options may be a better fit for your use case. To learn more about these options, feel free to reach out to us at team@parcllabs.com.