Articles
Expert analysis, market trends, and data-driven perspectives across real estate and local markets.
Track which markets are courting data centers and which are pausing them—before it hits the trade press.
RFP, RFQ, and RFI are the three government procurement solicitations. Learn what each means, how they differ, and when a city uses which one.
A development permit is any local approval that lets land be developed. This guide explores its process, common misconceptions, and answers frequently asked questions about development permits.
Comparing GatherGov and FiscalNote Curate for local government intelligence in 2026: coverage, meeting transcripts, data freshness, and which fits your workflow."
A conditional use permit is approval for a use that a zoning district allows only under stated conditions. This article explores how it works, who grants it, and what it actually binds you to.
A city council agenda is the published list of items a council can legally discuss or vote on at a meeting. Here is how it works.
A nonconforming use is a property use that was legal when it began but no longer meets current zoning. This article explores how it works, ways it can get revoked, and answers frequently asked questions about nonconforming use.
NEPA requires federal agencies to study environmental effects before acting. This article explores what happens when it reaches private projects, the three review levels, and what changed in 2025.
CEQA requires California agencies to study and disclose a project's environmental effects before approving it. This guide breaks down CEQA's three review tracks and what 2025 reform changed.
A right-of-way permit authorizes any work that interferes with the public street corridor. This article covers its definition, why bonds and insurance are required, and which agency issues yours.
No certificate of occupancy, no legal occupancy, and therefore no closing. This article goes over what triggers one, what holds one up, and why your jurisdiction may not even call it that.
IRR is the annual return an investment earns, counting when each dollar arrives. Here's how it works in real estate.
A cap rate is a property's net operating income divided by its value, expressed as a percentage. Here's how it works and where it misleads.
Rezoning changes a parcel's zoning district—and the term gets misused constantly. What rezoning actually is, and what it isn't.
A parcel map is the California map type required to subdivide land into four or fewer parcels. What it shows, who prepares it, and why an assessor's map is not one.
Splitting land into lots is a regulated act, not a paperwork step. Here is what triggers subdivision review, what it costs, and why the threshold is not the same everywhere.
PUD zoning swaps standard district rules for a negotiated development plan. Here is who approves it, how long it takes, and what you give up to get it.
Adaptive reuse is converting an existing building to a use it wasn't designed for. Here's what makes a building convertible and what goes wrong.
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A development pro forma is a projection of a real estate project's costs, revenues, and returns, used to test whether the project is financially feasible.
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Rezoning is a change to a jurisdiction’s zoning map that reclassifies a parcel to allow a different land use, approved by the local governing body.
Analysts are treating Prince William County’s failed data centers like a typical case of unpredictable opposition, but Digital Gateway is nothing but typical; it’s what happens when poor site selection meets unfixable infrastructure constraints.
Addresses change. Owners change. The APN doesn't. Here's how assessor's parcel numbers work and where they break.
Broken promises sink data center projects. Enforceable community benefit agreements are how developers win approval in a low-trust environment.
How did one Memphis data center become a national myth?We trace how legitimate local concerns mutated into sensationalized claims as they spread, and why that "political telephone" is now a material risk for anyone building data centers.
Data centers have gone from political safe bet to electoral liability. We trace how organized opposition reshaped local politics in Virginia—and why developers should treat entitlement risk as the next big variable in deal underwriting.
Google, Amazon, and Meta Hyperscalers have been at the center of the growing data center backlash. Organized resident groups show up to these hearings armed with facts and research—citing the same cases, but each telling different versions.
The O'Fallon MO city council rejected Caballo Farms 5-3 against its own attorney's advice. The developer says this is illegal and has taken the city to court.
Federal funding and demand from data centers have made nuclear power increasingly appealing. Momentum is building among local governments eager to build new plants and restart old ones — but not everyone is on board.
BTM is the data center industry's fix for grid bottlenecks. The local officials approving these projects are still figuring out what it means.
Rising community pressure and an upcoming election cycle has put pressure on Bayonne City Council to limit and repeal data center approvals.
Your zoning report says the site is compliant. It doesn't say the last three projects like yours got denied. Here's what to look for instead.
Learn how to read a land use map, decode zoning map colors, interpret overlay districts, and conduct a zoning property search for smarter real estate decisions.
Analysis of industrial mentions across 3,360+ local governments reveals upcoming warehouse construction, manufacturing projects, data center proposals, and semiconductor facilities shaping the industrial property landscape for 2026.
There are 90,498 local governments in America. Learn the five types, how they get their powers, and why it matters for real estate.
AI in real estate is cracking open a historically siloed industry. Here are 5 ways new AI tools are transforming how agents and investors use real estate data.
Analysis of 38,163 RFP mentions across 3,360 local governments reveals upcoming construction projects, software procurements, and service contracts for 2026.
Understand what each commercial zoning classification allows before you buy. A practical guide for real estate investors and developers.
Before you can build anything on a parcel, you need to obtain all the required government approvals known as entitlements. This guide takes you through everything real estate professionals need to know to navigate the process.
A short primer on everything real estate professionals need to know about zoning before they buy or build—what it is, how it works, and how to navigate the system.
