June 2nd, 2011, By Dana Haugh
So, two of the biggest commercial real estate websites decided to merge a month ago. What exactly does that mean for those of us in CRE?
A revamped and enhanced LoopNet, according to their blog. The website has recently undergone some changes to make the experience and navigation more user friendly. It features a new homepage that’s “free of clutter” and a community section where you can “connect with the over 4 million commercial real estate professionals in the LoopNet community.” There’s also a easier, more concise way of searching for properties in specific areas and it now features highlighted parcel boundaries to make the lot size, depth and outline more distinguished. And to top it off there’s an “auto-save” function for the reports created in Property Facts.
So far, CoStar’s influence on LoopNet seems to be minimal in spite of the proposed “larger more robust marketplace with hundreds of thousands of participants and billions of potential connections.” However, it’s only been a month since the news was revealed. Undoubtedly many consumers are afraid of the effect their businesses will feel in light of the merge, however the right now there seems to be little to discuss. CoStar’s CEO Andy Florance believes that, by combining CoStar’s information and leasing tools with LoopNet’s mainstream commercial real estate and suburban market sales, it will “improve the quality of LoopNet listings.” Only time will tell, of course.
The merge doubled CoStar’s paid members to 160,000 and is expected to “increase the combined companies’ long-term target margins.” The union of LoopNet and CoStar will, they hope, become the best source for researching, analyzing and marketing commercial real estate online. It will bring national brokers and local owners together by providing services for the variety of consumers. Florance proposes that the combination of CoStar and LoopNet “will drive significant revenue opportunities and cost saving synergies” because of the diversified clientele.
I think the one question on everyone’s mind, though, is: “How much is this merge going to cost me?”
All information gathered from LoopNet and BizJournals