SOC 2 for the Real Estate Industry

In the real estate industry, technology is at the heart of everything  from handling financial records to managing personal client data. But with cyber threats on the rise, keeping this data secure doesn’t just keep you on the right side of regulation and legislation, it’s good for business. Your governance, risk and compliance (GRC) posture matters to your customers.

That’s where SOC 2 compliance can help you secure more opportunities. Designed to help businesses safeguard sensitive information, it’s quickly becoming a must-have for real estate operators, investors, advisers and CRE tech firms that want to stay ahead of the competition and build lasting client trust.

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What is SOC 2?

SOC 2, which stands for Systems and Organisation Controls 2, was created by the AICPA in 2010. SOC 2 is a security framework that specifies how businesses should protect their customer data from unauthorized access, breaches, data leaks, and other security vulnerabilities.

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Why SOC 2 matters in Real Estate

For real estate professionals, SOC 2 compliance offers several key benefits:

1. Builds client trust: demonstrating SOC 2 compliance assures clients that their data is handled with the highest security standards.
2. Competitive advantage: in a competitive market, SOC 2 compliance can set a real estate firm apart, signalling a commitment to data security.
3. Regulatory alignment: with increasing regulations around data protection, SOC 2 compliance helps ensure that real estate firms meet these evolving legal requirements.

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The SOC 2 audit process: What Real Estate firms need to know

Becoming SOC 2 compliant involves an independent CPA-led audit that evaluates an organisation’s security controls. The SOC 2 audit process includes:

• Audit scope review – defining the systems and data included in the audit.
• Security Policies and procedures – checking you have them in place and implement them in day-to-day practice.
• Security control testing – assessing how well security measures perform in real-world conditions.
• Recording results – documenting findings on system vulnerabilities and strengths.
• Final report – issuing a report detailing compliance and security effectiveness.

Firms must undergo ongoing audits and security improvements to maintain compliance, ensuring their security measures evolve with emerging threats.

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Best practices for SOC 2 compliance in Real Estate

It’s not just your internal processes that need to be SOC 2 compliant; you also need to consider third-party supplier and vendor management. Before partnering with CRE or PropTech providers, software vendors, or data storage services, you should conduct thorough vendor risk assessments. Contracts should include clear security and privacy clauses to ensure compliance across all third-party services.

Cloud and on-premise infrastructure security is another crucial aspect. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for access to sensitive systems adds an extra layer of protection. The principle of least privilege (PoLP) should be enforced to limit system access to only necessary personnel, while role-based access control (RBAC) ensures that only authorised individuals can access critical information.

Privacy protection is also essential for SOC 2 compliance. Real estate firms should document and minimise data collection to limit information gathering.

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How Hicomply can help

At Hicomply, we simplify SOC 2 compliance with an all-in-one GRC platform that:

• Provides an out of the box pre-authored set of all policies and procedures.
• Generates a compliant digital asset register and risk assessment.
• Automates evidence collection and security audits, reducing manual workloads.

• Streamlines third-party vendor management with built-in risk assessment tools.
• Provides real-time compliance tracking to keep firms audit-ready year-round.

By integrating compliance into everyday operations, we help real estate professionals to focus on what they do best – closing deals and serving clients – without compromising on security. In addition, if you need to add international standards such as ISO 27001 or DORA in the EU, 80% of the work is already done by having SOC2 in place.

To learn how Hicomply can streamline your security compliance journey, visit our SOC 2 hub.

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