Carter Malloy: Why Better Land Data Is the Foundation of Better Housing Supply

Why It Matters

Better land data unlocks faster, more efficient homebuilding, directly influencing housing supply and affordability for consumers and investors alike.

Key Takeaways

• Poor land data hampers efficient homebuilding and investment decisions.
• Acres consolidates fragmented datasets into a single, actionable platform.
• Transparency reveals ownership patterns, provoking industry resistance but improving markets.
• Real AI delivers “magical” speed and insight, not just buzzwords.
• Data-driven land acquisition can boost housing inventory and affordability.

Summary

In a sponsored Powerhouse episode, Carter Malloy, CEO of Acres, explains why accurate land and housing data are essential to expanding the nation’s home‑building pipeline. He describes his own journey from Arkansas farmland to creating a data‑centric platform that aggregates zoning, utilities, and ownership records—information traditionally scattered across eight disparate systems.

Malloy argues that the industry’s reliance on tools like ArcGIS or Ezri leaves most business users blind, prompting Acres to build a unified, AI‑enhanced marketplace. The platform now tracks more than 90% of U.S. production builders, their LLCs, and real‑time transactions, exposing concentration of ownership and prompting pushback from incumbents who fear loss of secrecy.

He highlights the difference between hype‑driven AI claims and genuine value, noting that true AI feels “magical” when it delivers rapid, precise insights—such as instantly mapping growth corridors or surfacing hidden land deals. Malloy cites examples ranging from farmland ownership reports to city‑council sentiment on data‑center siting, illustrating how granular data can reshape competitive strategy.

The broader implication is clear: richer, transparent land data can accelerate land acquisition, lower transaction costs, and ultimately increase housing inventory, addressing affordability pressures while enabling builders and investors to make more rational, data‑driven decisions.

Original Description

On this sponsored episode of Power House, Zeb Lowe sits down with Carter Malloy to discuss why better land data may be one of the most important and overlooked pieces of solving the housing supply crisis.

Malloy explains how his experience in land investing exposed a major industry problem: builders, developers, and investors were still making massive decisions using fragmented systems, outdated information, and hyper-local knowledge. That challenge eventually led to the creation of Acres, a platform designed to bring transparency, speed, and intelligence to land acquisition and development.

The conversation explores how better visibility into zoning, infrastructure, ownership, and growth patterns can help bring housing to market more efficiently. Malloy also breaks down the difference between AI hype and AI that actually creates operational value, arguing that the real opportunity lies in combining high-quality geospatial data with intelligent systems capable of analyzing land-use variables at scale.

Related to the episode:

⁠Zeb Lowe’s LinkedIn⁠

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zebulon-lowe-a02353a4/

Carter Malloy's LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carter-malloy/

Acres

https://www.acres.com/

The Power House podcast brings the biggest names in housing to answer hard-hitting questions about industry trends, operational and growth strategy, and leadership. Join HousingWire’s Zeb Lowe every Thursday morning for candid con