A Grounded Theory Study on Enhancing the Utility of the Commercial Real Estate Lease Trends Survey

This study conducted in-depth interviews with users and providers of the nationally accredited Commercial Real Estate Lease Trends Survey to identify the reasons for its limited utility and to examine its possible improvements. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Grounded Theory. The analysis showed that the main phenomenon of “lack of data standardization” stems from the causal and contextual conditions of “market heterogeneity” and “insufficient government involvement,” which lead to negative outcomes such as “reduced data usefulness” and “lack of market transparency.” To address these problems, three strategies were identified : “scientific improvement of sample redesign,” “development of an integrated data platform,” and “enhanced active cooperation between users and providers.” Concurrently, according to this scenario, users and providers of commercial real estate statistics had different perceptions. Providers identified technical limitations, such as data collection and sample redesign, as the main challenges in the production stage, whereas users focused on issues of data accessibility and cost. The government should try to improve the Commercial Real Estate Lease Trends Survey and strike a balance between these perspectives.