The Methodology

Prism. One score. Four pillars. Every deal and every market on the same scale.

Prism is our in-house intelligence platform. It scores every submarket we cover and every deal in our pipeline against a single transparent framework, so you can compare a heavy Las Vegas reposition against a light Tucson stabilizer without comparing apples to oranges.

MSAs Covered
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Across 12 states
Submarkets Scored
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Updated continuously
Live Pipeline
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In Due Diligence
Avg Pipeline Prism
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Across active deals
Pillars per Deal
4
Each scored 0–10

The four pillarsEvery deal gets four scores, each on the same 0–10 scale.

Prism never collapses a deal into a single black-box number. The four pillars stay visible on every deal card and every public profile so you can see exactly where a deal is strong and where it is leaning on assumptions. Each pillar carries equal weight in the composite score.

01
Entry Quality
25% weight
How well are we buying? Basis vs. replacement cost, vs. recent comparable sales, vs. the asset's own history. Did the seller need a quick close, or are we paying full retail?
Price per unit vs. submarket median
0–6 pts
Implied basis vs. replacement cost
0–6 pts
Going-in cap rate vs. submarket cap
0–7 pts
Seller motivation signals
0–6 pts
02
Deal Performance
25% weight
How well will this deal pencil? Stress-tested IRR and equity multiple, debt service coverage in year one, going-in vs. stabilized yield on cost. The math, before the story.
Year-one DSCR at stress rate
0–7 pts
Stabilized yield-on-cost vs. exit cap
0–6 pts
Levered IRR (P50, P10 downside)
0–6 pts
Equity multiple, full hold
0–6 pts
03
Market Quality
25% weight
Is the wind at our back? Population growth, job creation, regulatory posture toward housing, and the supply pipeline all roll up to a single market sub-score backed by federal data.
10-year population CAGR
0–6 pts
Trailing job growth, all sectors
0–6 pts
Permit pipeline vs. existing inventory
0–7 pts
Regulatory posture (rent control, zoning)
0–6 pts
04
Value-Add Depth
25% weight
How much room is there to actually move the rent? Loss-to-lease, classic vs. renovated rent gap, exterior and amenity gap to true Class A comps, operational fat to trim.
In-place rent vs. submarket effective
0–7 pts
Classic vs. renovated rent gap
0–6 pts
Exterior & amenity gap to comps
0–6 pts
Operating expense ratio vs. peer
0–6 pts

A worked exampleHow a deal actually scores. Step by step.

A representative pipeline deal, walked through the framework. Numbers are illustrative. Every real deal in the pipeline runs through this exact calculation, and the resulting score appears on the public profile.

Inputs
A 110-unit Class B reposition in a Sun-Belt secondary market.
Entry Quality
7.8
Deal Performance
7.2
Market Quality
8.1
Value-Add Depth
7.6
Composite Prism Score = average of the four pillar scores, then rounded to one decimal.

(7.8 + 7.2 + 8.1 + 7.6) ÷ 4 = 7.675 → 7.7
Composite Score
7.7
Pursue band
0.0–4.9Skip. Pillars too weak.
5.0–6.4Watch. Re-engage if terms move.
6.5–7.9Pursue. Order full underwriting.
8.0–10.0Priority. Compete hard, fast.

SensitivityWhat moves the score, and by how much.

Same baseline deal as above (Prism 7.7). Each row holds three pillars constant and shifts a single input. The delta column shows how the composite reacts. This is the full mechanics; nothing is hidden in a black box.

Scenario Pillar Affected Pillar Δ New Pillar New Composite Score Δ Band Shift
Baseline (the worked example) 7.7 Pursue
Seller cuts 5% on basis Entry Quality +1.2 9.0 8.0 +0.3 Pursue → Priority
Stress rate +75 bps on debt Deal Performance −1.5 5.7 7.3 −0.4 Pursue (low-end)
Permit pipeline +200 bps vs. inventory Market Quality −1.8 6.3 7.2 −0.5 Pursue (cautiously)
Loss-to-lease widens 4% Value-Add Depth +1.1 8.7 8.0 +0.3 Pursue → Priority
Submarket job growth flips negative Market Quality −2.4 5.7 7.1 −0.6 Pursue (recheck)
Two pillars decline simultaneously Performance + Market −3.0 total 7.0 −0.7 Pursue → Watch (close call)
A single weak pillar rarely kills a Pursue-band deal because the composite averages all four. Two simultaneous declines is when our underwriters re-open the model and re-litigate the assumptions.

Score this marketPull a live Prism Market Score for any MSA we cover.

The same four-pillar engine that scores deals also scores markets. Pick any MSA below to see its live composite score, the four pillar breakdowns, submarket coverage, and how many active deals we are working there right now. All numbers are pulled live from the Prism data layer.

Score-this-market
Pick any MSA
Prism aggregates 4 federal-data pillars per market: population growth, job growth, supply discipline, and submarket coverage depth.
Population Growth
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Job Growth
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Supply Discipline
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Coverage Depth
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Prism Market Score
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Select a market
Submarkets, active deals, and coverage will appear here.

What Prism is notThe honest boundary of the system.

Prism is a screen, not an oracle. Knowing what it does not do is as important as knowing what it does.

Prism does not pick deals.

It surfaces them. Every investment decision and every wire is a human call by our underwriting team. The score gets us to the right door; people decide whether to knock.

Prism does not replace judgment.

It clears the noise so judgment can focus on what matters. The best AI on the market is not a substitute for someone who has walked a 120-unit property in July and can tell you whether the roof has five years left.

Prism does not guarantee returns.

Past Prism Scores are not a promise of future performance. Real estate is real. Markets move. We underwrite conservatively, close the deals we like, and pass on many more than we take.

See what Prism is surfacing right now.

Live deals in Due Diligence, plus the next set already in Negotiation. Browse the pipeline without an account.

See the live pipeline Explore covered submarkets →