Maxfield Research

What Maxfield Research does

Maxfield Research Inc. (also operating as Maxfield Research & Consulting) is a private, independent real estate research and consulting firm headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota. Founded in 1984, the firm provides comprehensive market intelligence and analysis to public and private sector clients across the Midwest and, over time, more than 30 U.S. states. Its core service lines span Residential, Commercial, Land Use, Special Projects, and Consulting Services, including housing needs analyses, market feasibility studies, site selection, and redevelopment strategy work delivered to cities, counties, housing authorities, developers, investors, lenders, and healthcare organizations. The firm conducts senior housing analyses nationally and is broadly recognized as the Midwest's leading real estate data and insights provider.

The company's product surface combines professional-services engagements with self-serve digital analytics. Three interactive web dashboards — Demographic, Employment, and Housing Development — provide filtering and visualization of Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area data, supported by an in-house GIS mapping and spatial analysis capability that handles geocoding, drive-time analysis, demographic layering, and proximity analysis for site selection. Recurring publications (Twin Cities Apartment Market Outlook, Midwest Market Outlook, Senior Housing Market Snapshot, MREJ Outlook) and downloadable brochures serve as both thought-leadership and lead-generation assets. The technical stack is built on conventional demographic and macroeconomic datasets, GIS tooling, and human expert interpretation rather than AI/ML systems, which positions the firm as a high-touch boutique rather than a scaled analytics platform.

Maxfield earns revenue primarily through two professional-services streams: (1) hourly advisory and consulting engagements customized to client project scope, and (2) comprehensive reports, market feasibility studies, and demand-estimate publications. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured per engagement rather than via SaaS subscriptions, with the free dashboards and downloadable publications functioning as marketing-funnel assets. The go-to-market motion is consultative and relationship-driven, anchored on a ten-person team with decades of specialized experience, partnerships with ULI MN, LAI MN, and EDAM, and recurring earned media in regional outlets. The firm is founder/management-controlled with no external investors or parent company and has no disclosed funding history.

Name

Maxfield Research

Legal name

Maxfield Research Inc.

Website

https://maxfieldresearch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Maxfield Research Inc. is an independent Midwest-based real estate research and consulting firm (founded 1984, Wayzata, MN) providing demographic, employment, and housing market intelligence — via interactive dashboards, GIS analytics, and bespoke advisory reports — to government agencies, developers, investors, and senior housing operators across more than 30 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Market Research and Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Real Estate Market Research & Economic Advisory (Demand/Supply, Location Analytics) (BPAJANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate Advisory & Consulting (Strategy, Portfolio & Location) (FSAEAJAH), Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC)

Keywords

• Real estate market research
• Housing needs analysis
• Market feasibility studies
• GIS spatial analysis
• Commercial real estate consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting and Advisory Services: Hourly advisory and consulting services customized for the real estate industry's unique challenges. Services are tailored to specific project needs with varying time and cost structures.
2. Comprehensive Reports and Publications: Detailed housing needs reports, market feasibility studies, analysis summaries, and demand estimates. Includes sector-specific publications such as Twin Cities Apartment Market Outlooks, Senior Housing Market Snapshots, and Midwest Market Outlook reports.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Maxfield Research provides full-service real estate market intelligence and consulting to public and private sector clients in the Midwest. The firm delivers customized hourly advisory services, housing needs analyses, market feasibility studies, demand estimates, and GIS-based spatial analysis, supported by interactive dashboards covering demographics, employment, and housing development for the Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area.

Product overview

Maxfield Research offers a unified suite of real estate consulting services centered on market intelligence and data-driven analysis. The core offerings consist of three interactive dashboards (Demographic, Employment, and Housing Development) providing visual analytics for the Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area, supplemented by a GIS Mapping Service for spatial analysis. The company delivers professional services across five domains: Residential Services, Commercial Services, Land Use Services, Special Projects, and Consulting Services. Research outputs are distributed through downloadable publications including the Twin Cities Apartment Market Outlook, Midwest Market Outlook, and Senior Housing Market Snapshot series, as well as promotional brochures. The portfolio is designed for public and private sector clients seeking housing needs analyses, market feasibility studies, and strategic real estate guidance primarily in the Midwest.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Demographic Dashboard Interactive dashboard providing population and household trend analysis across the Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area, supporting early-stage feasibility checks and market positioning decisions. Allows filtering by county and county subdivision with linked indicator widgets showing key metrics.
• Employment Dashboard Interactive platform presenting labor-market dynamics and employment indicators across the Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area, helping evaluate market momentum, workforce purchasing power, and long-term economic sustainability for site selection and investment strategy.
• Housing Development Dashboard Interactive dashboard providing housing supply metrics for the Twin Cities 7-County Metro Area, enabling users to visualize housing trends and assess whether markets are undersupplied, balanced, or oversupplied, and align product mix with demand.
• GIS Mapping Services Geographic Information System services that capture, store, analyze, and visualize spatial data including demographic and socioeconomic data analysis, geocoding, housing characteristics assessment, drive-time analysis, traffic count data, and proximity analysis to support site selection and market strategy.
• Residential Services Comprehensive housing market analysis across property types including senior housing, student housing, affordable housing, rental properties, condominiums, townhomes, and single-family homes, tailored for developers, operators, investors, lenders, and public-sector clients.
• Commercial Services Specialized real estate consulting solutions for office and industrial parks, retail centers, asset repositioning, hospitality, downtown districts, and community redevelopment, serving developers, investors, and municipalities.
• Land Use Services Strategic land use optimization including redevelopment studies, highest and best-use analysis, adaptive reuse, master plans, and transit-oriented development, serving municipalities and private developers.
• Special Projects Strategic guidance for non-traditional real estate projects including economic needs assessments, special purpose facilities, and financial assessments for developers, investors, and public-sector clients.
• Consulting Services Customized hourly advisory and consulting services including market area definition, site selection, competitive analysis, financial feasibility studies, and project concept review for the real estate industry's unique challenges.
• Twin Cities Apartment Market Outlook Annual market outlook publication analyzing Twin Cities apartment market conditions, trends, and forecasts, available as a downloadable PDF for developers, investors, and operators.
• Senior Housing Market Snapshot Quarterly/semi-annual senior housing market report providing current conditions and trends in the senior living industry for the Twin Cities region, available as a downloadable PDF.
• Midwest Market Outlook Annual/semi-annual comprehensive market analysis publication covering Midwest real estate market trends and conditions for the Midwest Real Estate Journal, available as a downloadable PDF.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides market intelligence enabling clients to make data-driven decisions and avoid poorly timed developments

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ULI MN (Urban Land Institute Minnesota Chapter)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaxfield maintains a partnership with the Urban Land Institute Minnesota Chapter, an organization focused on responsible land use and sustainable development. The collaboration supports knowledge sharing and industry engagement in real estate development and planning.
• LAI MN (Lambda Alpha International Minnesota Chapter)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLambda Alpha International is an honorary society for land economists and appraisers. Maxfield's partnership with the Minnesota chapter facilitates networking and professional development in real estate analysis and land economics.
• EDAM (Economic Development Association of Minnesota)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaxfield partners with EDAM, an organization supporting economic development professionals across Minnesota. This relationship enables collaboration on regional development initiatives and knowledge sharing.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Cushman & Wakefield: Cushman & Wakefield is a global commercial real estate services firm offering research, valuation, and advisory services. Director of Research Joe Hollman was previously on Cushman & Wakefield's national research team, indicating direct overlap in the research function Maxfield performs at a regional level.
• CBRE Group: CBRE is the world's largest commercial real estate services and investment firm with a robust research division producing market outlooks and feasibility analytics. Comparable to Maxfield in offering real estate market intelligence, though at far greater geographic scale and institutional client base.
• Marcus & Millichap: Marcus & Millichap is a commercial real estate investment sales and financing firm with research capabilities supporting multifamily, senior housing, and other property types. Comparable to Maxfield in providing market intelligence to investors and developers, though focused on transaction execution rather than pure consulting.
• Newmark Group: Newmark is a commercial real estate advisory and services firm with research capabilities serving investors, developers, and occupiers. Comparable in offering market intelligence and feasibility consulting, with broader geographic coverage than Maxfield.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): JLL is a global real estate services firm offering research, consulting, and investment advisory. It serves overlapping client segments (developers, investors, public sector) and publishes market outlooks that compete with Maxfield's Midwest-focused publications.
• CoStar Group: CoStar is the dominant commercial real estate data and analytics platform, offering comprehensive market intelligence, demographics, and property data. It competes with Maxfield's dashboard offerings at the data layer and represents the broadest incumbent threat to regional research firms.

Direct peers

• RCLCO Real Estate Advisors: RCLCO is a national real estate advisory firm providing market feasibility, land use strategy, and demographic-driven consulting to developers, investors, and public agencies. It is comparable to Maxfield in service offering and customer base, though RCLCO operates at national scale and serves larger institutional clients.

Others

• Urban Land Institute (ULI): ULI is a knowledge and research organization supporting responsible land use, with which Maxfield maintains a Minnesota chapter partnership. While ULI is a membership/research body rather than a direct competitor, it operates in the same real estate advisory and research ecosystem and shapes industry thought leadership that Maxfield competes against.
• Esri: Esri is the dominant GIS software and spatial analytics platform provider. While not a direct competitor, Maxfield's GIS mapping capabilities are built on Esri's technology stack, making it both an enabling infrastructure provider and a potential threat if Esri expands into vertical real estate analytics.

Emerging players

• Walker & Dunlop: Walker & Dunlop is a commercial real estate finance and advisory firm with expertise in multifamily lending and market feasibility. Comparable to Maxfield's multifamily housing analysis and HUD-underwriting heritage (via Thomas O'Neil's background), but with national scale and a focus on capital markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maxfield-research-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maxfield Research