The RE Developer’s AI Stack That Actually Saves Time
From Finding Deals to Successfully Delivering an Income Producing Property
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It’s tough to make sense of all the AI-powered tools flooding the real estate space. There’s a lot of buzz—but not a lot of clarity—especially for small-to-mid-sized investors trying to build a multifamily portfolio or streamline a few projects.
But what if you could cut weeks off your process—from sourcing sites to building investor-ready packages—and make better decisions at every step?
That’s why we’re following Bob the Builder—a fictional but very relatable investor—on his journey to reengineer the way he sources, underwrites, designs, and manages real estate projects.
Bob’s been in the game a while. He’s no stranger to walking properties with a clipboard or getting calls from plumbers on Sunday. But he’s tired of wasting time on low-leverage tasks, duplicating work, and second-guessing decisions that should’ve been clearer from the start.
Now, Bob is ready to rework his process—keeping what’s valuable and automating the rest.
Let’s walk through the modern real estate development journey—with Bob leading the way—and explore 13 tools that can help every builder make better, faster, and smarter decisions.
1. Sourcing & Screening Opportunities
In the old days, Bob would spend hours scrolling through LoopNet, cold-calling brokers, or driving aimlessly through neighborhoods looking for “For Sale by Owner” signs. He’d scribble down addresses, track down owners at City Hall, and hope no one else beat him to the punch.
Now?
Bob opens Reonomy, filters commercial properties based on debt maturity, ownership structure, and last sale date—and finds promising off-market deals that aren’t listed anywhere else. Within seconds, he sees the property details and the actual owner’s contact info—no more chasing LLC paperwork or guessing who to call.
Then he cross-checks CityBldr, an AI platform that spots underutilized properties in upzoned areas or Opportunity Zones. CityBldr even highlights parcels that could be assembled into a larger development.
To monitor active listings, Bob still checks LoopNet or CoStar. LoopNet shows him the playing field. Reonomy and CityBldr show him the hidden plays.
And to get the owner’s attention?
Bob uses Postalytics to send personalized, trackable direct mail campaigns—so outreach happens while he sleeps.
Bob’s takeaway: He doesn’t just find deals—he targets the right ones, and reaches the right people, faster.
2. Feasibility Analysis
After identifying a promising property, Bob needs to determine what he can legally build on the site. This involves understanding zoning regulations, buildable units, parking requirements, and environmental considerations.
He turns to CityBldr again, which gives him detailed zoning overlays, buildable unit potential, parking requirements, and any environmental indicators.
To go deeper, he layers in Gridics’ interactive 3D zoning tools—giving him a visual representation of how his concept plays out under real zoning conditions.
Zoning might say Bob can build up to 12 units, but what does that actually look like?
Bob uses TestFit to instantly generate optimized building layouts based on the parcel size, setbacks, parking ratios, and unit types. Within minutes, he sees multiple design schemes—and gets early cost signals through automatic quantity takeoffs.
Bob’s takeaway: Zoning no longer feels like a wall of code. It’s a launchpad.
3. Financial Underwriting
With his site selected, zoning confirmed, layouts tested, and a rough cost estimate in hand, Bob turns to the numbers.
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