Yardi Buys Pierce-Eislen

By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Gordon Morrell, of Yardi

Officials of Yardi and Pierce-Eislen say their merger fits in with both companies’ plans for growth in the real estate market research and software solutions businesses.

Yardi, a Santa Barbara, Calif., company that designs, develops and supports real estate investment management and property management software, this week acquired Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based Pierce-Eislen, a supplier of property- and market-level research and reporting for the multi-family industry in the United States.

Yardi, a private firm and the parent company of Commercial Property Executive, did not disclose the purchase price.

“Pierce-Eislen uniquely bundles information, process and technology into a transaction engine to produce rich, detailed market research and reporting on multi-family properties. The combination of innovative technology, a defined growth strategy and similar goals made this partnership make sense,” Gordon Morrell, Executive Vice President & COO., for Yardi, told Commercial Property Executive.

Ronald Brock, founder of Pierce-Eislen, said in a news release that the merger “was a direct result of an extensive search for the best partner to support Pierce-Eislen’s aggressive growth strategy.”

“This union will help us bring the industry’s most complete and fully bundled information source to a national audience,” he added. “Yardi’s recognized superiority in the real estate industry was a perfect fit, both synergistically and culturally.”

Brock and the Pierce-Eislen employees will continue to work from their existing offices.

Pierce-Eislen provides apartment industry data at the property, market, regional and national levels. The data is accurate, current, searchable and accessible online in minutes. The company currently reports on all apartment communities with more than 50 units. Subscribers to the online service include apartment owners, property managers, investors, brokers, lenders and securities fiduciaries that handle market trend analysis and status.

“Pierce-Eislen provides a service that complements the services Yardi offers through PropertyShark,” Morrell added. “We are already working on a plan to expand the service to other market locations and market sectors.”

Yardi had acquired PropertyShark, creators of PropertyShark.com, a premier real estate data web site, in March 2010, to integrate deep property data into its suite of real estate investment management and property management software.

Last year, Yardi purchased ista North Americas Multifamily Services Group, a leading supplier of energy and water metering, billing and management services. The May 2012 acquisition made Yardi one of the largest providers of energy management services in the U.S., serving more than 700,000 apartment units.

In April 2012, Yardi acquired Lead Tracking Solutions, the creator of PopCard, a patented and complete lead tracking and lead management software solution. That acquisition was integrated with Yardi Voyager and gave those clients the opportunity to add the PopCard’s fully integrated lead-to-lease solution that automates the tracking of rental prospects and helps maximize marketing dollars. Yardi Voyager is a full business real estate management platform and is just one of several trademarked management software solutions used by Yardi clients around the world.

Two weeks ago, Yardi announced the expansion of Yardi Marketing Suite, a mobile marketing solution that supports the entire apartment leasing cycle. It is integrated with Yardi Voyager and includes social media marketing tools, reputation management features as well as interactive prospect and resident portals.

“This is shaping up to be a strong year for Yardi. We continue to stay focused, and we continue to grow,” Morrell concluded. “We have an outstanding team that works hard, and to show for it, we can now provide another great service for our clients.”