A Design and Implementation of a Decision Support System for the Real Estate Industry

A decision support system can be described as an interactive, computer-based system designed to help decision-makers to solve poorly structured problems. Using a combination of models, analytical techniques, and information retrieval, such systems help develop and evaluate appropriate alternatives. Decision support systems should focus on strategic decisions, not operational ones. More specifically, they should contribute to reduce the uncertainty faced by managers when they need to make decisions regarding future options. It is in this light that we have chosen to develop a decision support system to assist real estate administrators in financial decisions.In the last two decades the finance theory has been applied to the real estate decision making process but with not much effort of the business or academia to develop a decision support system that integrates this knowledge, and transmits the theory to real-world practice. Property managers face every day critical decisions as determining the price for sell or rent of a property, choice of financing, investment analysis, real estate portfolio management, real estate valuation. In these cases a decision support system can be very valuable in order to maximize the profitability of the industry.The objective of this research project is to design and develop a decision support system using existing decision models to assist managers in real estate decisions. Real estate economy theory will be reviewed in order to understand the economic life cycle and the actors of the industry. Following, the decision process will be analyzed and the models to support the decisions will be identified. Finally with the use of information technology the decision support system will be designed and implemented in order to satisfy the needs of the real estate industry