Why an ontology
Cotality data spans many products and tools, but they all describe the same real-world things: properties, the parcels they sit on, the structures built on them, the people who own them, and the risks and markets around them. The ontology is the shared model that connects those things so a fact retrieved by one tool means the same thing everywhere.Core entity model
Entity glossary
The three relationships that matter most for agents
1
Address resolves to a Property (CLIP)
Addresses are ambiguous and unstable. The CLIP is stable. Always resolve an address to a
CLIP before calling any data tool. See identifiers.
2
A Property has one or more Structures
Never assume a single building on a parcel. Check
summaryNumberOfBuildings and iterate
the structure array if needed. See property characteristics.3
A Property rolls up through Geography
Property → ZIP → County → CBSA → State connects a single address to market trends, HPI,
and climate risk aggregates. See geographic hierarchy → data assets mapping.
Data assets bound to the ontology
Property characteristics
Land, structure, ownership, and tax attributes per CLIP.
Climate and risk
Age of Roof estimates and multi-peril climate scores per CLIP.
Market and HPI
Listing trends, rental trends, HPI, and forecasts by geography.