Data-driven decisions are critical in business. Have the right information and you're well on the way to a smart decision.

Government data can be a gold mine for executives. In real estate, one of the prime sources is the Census Bureau. Forget for a moment the population counts, economic projections, and demographics. Here's where you get the data on housing starts, sales, and construction for direct real estate information. Other important data points include retail and food service activity.

"Rental vacancy rate trendlines can materially inform a multifamily investor's underwriting decisions related to occupancy forecasts," Josh Fischer, a principal and director of acquisitions at real estate private equity investment firm Birgo Capital, tells GlobeSt.com. "If a given property has a current occupancy rate of 98%, but the vacancy rate of the larger metropolitan area has been steadily increasing by 2% a year, said investor would be wise to consider how this macro dynamic is likely to affect the specific acquisition they are considering."