Market Research Analyst in Columbus, Ohio at Ohio Equities

WHY THIS ROLE EXISTS

In commercial real estate, market intelligence is the foundation of great service. The firms that invest in the best data deliver the sharpest insight and the strongest position for their clients. NAI Ohio Equities is making that investment, and this role leads it.

The Market Research Analyst will build and own a dedicated, in-house research capability for the Columbus market: a single, authoritative source of property and market data that powers OE's reports, tools, and client conversations with accuracy and confidence.

This is a build-it-from-scratch opportunity. The person in this seat will not inherit a system, they will create one, and it will become a lasting asset for the entire firm.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

The role grows in three phases. The early months are heads-down build work; over time the focus shifts toward connection, analysis, and market voice.

Phase 1: Build.

• Build and maintain a comprehensive in-house property database for the Columbus MSA, with a defined track set for office, retail, and industrial assets.
• Establish the base layer for every trackable property: size, year built, key attributes, ownership, and last sale.
• Attach deals and leases to properties as they occur, beginning with OE internal leases and property management leases.
• Integrate property management line-item operating expense data across roughly 25 million square feet into the comparable database.

Phase 2: Maintain and Connect.

• Track market move-ins and move-outs, and keep the dataset current as transactions occur.
• Monitor a wide range of market sources, including public records, news media, appraisers, and county data, to verify and enrich the dataset.
• Build relationships across the market to strengthen the breadth and accuracy of our data.

Phase 3: Optimize and Voice.

• Build tools and systems to analyze, visualize, and report on market data.
• Develop an internal market-data resource that powers OE's tools and teams from a single source.
• Produce analytics that connect marketing approaches to outcomes by property type and submarket, sharpening strategy across the team.
• Support emerging industry data initiatives that improve market transparency.
• Contribute thought leadership context and content. Writing market pieces or appearing in short market-trend videos is a plus; producing material that others present in their own voice is equally valuable.

WHO YOU ARE

The hardest and most important quality in this hire is the blend of analyst and communicator. We need someone rigorous enough to build a database and outgoing enough to represent Ohio Equities with brokers internally and with peers across the market.

Required

• Professional data analysis experience. Proven experience analyzing data in a business setting. This is not an entry-level role.
• Database and research fluency. Strong skills building and maintaining structured datasets, and a methodical approach to sourcing and verifying information.
• Resourceful and proactive. A self-starter who chases down data, builds the process, and does not wait to be handed a playbook.
• Outgoing and confident. Genuinely comfortable interacting with brokers, vendors, and external peers. Relationship-building is core to this role, not occasional.
• Tool builder. Comfortable creating tools and systems to work with data. Experience with Python or similar data analytics technology is a strong plus.
• Clear communicator. Strong written and verbal skills, with the ability to translate data into something a client or colleague can act on.
• Data visualization. Experience presenting data clearly through charts, dashboards, and reports.

Preferred (and Learnable)

• Commercial real estate knowledge. Helpful, but learnable on the job and weighted below research and data skills.
• Columbus market familiarity. A plus, but not required, and readily picked up.
• Market voice. Strong writing or on-camera comfort for thought leadership content is a welcome bonus.

WHY NAI OHIO EQUITIES

This is a rare chance to build something foundational and own it. Rather than being one analyst among many in a large department with little room to advance, you will create the firm's market-data function from the ground up and watch it become central to how the entire company operates.

NAI Ohio Equities is an independently owned, Columbus-rooted firm that leads with relationships. You will work directly with senior brokers and firm leadership, your work will be visible across every department, and you will help shape how NAI Ohio Equities competes in its market for years to come.