If you could invent a new CRE Listing Service - what would it’s features be?
As a CRE Broker and/or Landlord, what would you want from a new/reinvented CoStar or LoopNet?  

Would you pay a monthly, 6 month, 12 month fee per property?

Would you be willing to pay for a package that included professional photography and floorplans? 

What features would you like on your ideal listing platform? 


[{"id": "e7ubkj2", "text": "Good luck.  Costar will put you out of business just like they do everyone else. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7ucwl1", "text": "Who has CoStar put out of business? \n\nI say, \u2018Do what CoStar can\u2019t do\u2019 and compete with a more \u2018feet on the street\u2019 style.  Have professional photography and floorplan made for each listing by a \u2018local rep\u2019. Then have a branded sign in every vacant retail space announcing the listing and directing potential tenants to the listing service\u2019s website. \n\nHave the website display only the properties and their representation, leaving no room for ads and bullshit. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7ud95f", "text": "Costar just recently put their only real competition \n (Xceligent) out of business through various lawsuits.  Costar can do everything you described better than you could with more money than you could ever come up with if they thought it would make them more money.  Obviously they don\u2019t think it would make money.  Also, costar does drive markets and take professional photos of properties.  Not for listings, but for their database. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7uej5p", "text": "In any given metro: think of ALL the available spaces in ALL the segments (industrial, Class A &amp; B Office, Retail, sublets, medical, small buildings) and tell me what the % is that are currently on CoStar/LoopNet? \n\nGive it a good thought - and tell me how many are actually on the current self-touted \u2018#1 CRE Info Company\u2019 \n\nI am just curious to know what % you think are on there. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7uf0ln", "text": "Well.. I work in hospitality and every hotel I have ever looked up is on there.  I\u2019m sure there are plenty of 15 unit motels that aren\u2019t included, but everything of any significance is on there.  I assume it\u2019s something similar in other product types.  If you zoom into the parcel level and know the property you are looking for you can typically find some info even if it\u2019s not coded correctly because they tie ownership records with county data.\n\nTo answer your question I would assume in terms of all commercial property types they have some level of property data for maybe 20-25% of properties that account for maybe 80% of the available and useful space.  Some space like older, owner occupied and purpose built factories that never trade are probably under represented.  Things like NNN retail buildings are probably well documented.  ", "replies": [{"id": "e7ugyej", "text": "I understand the viewpoint and do agree. To get down to the point, I am working on a commercial real estate marketing platform that gives brokers and landlords a proper listing for their spaces, while also putting them into categories with other listings. \n\nI live just outside Queens, NY and I see a huge misrepresentation of available space on both Long Island and the boroughs. There are hundreds of \u2018For Sale/Lease\u2019 by owner signs with a simple phone number in the window. Commercial Office buildings all have terrible outward marketing with little-to-no information given out other than a phone number. \n\nToday\u2019s businessperson doesn\u2019t care to call random phone numbers on buildings and get the run around - decisions need to be made with information - accurate and freely displayed/given. \n\nI want this new platform to be everything that commercial real estate needs to be for all three parties in the equation: tenants, brokers, and landlords. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7uhn0k", "text": "These are all services that are readily available and part of CoStars offerings. Sounds like what you want is for brokers and owners in your market to make the effort to utilize costar/loopnet to market their properties. Costar relies on public records for data, drives major markets for street level photos, and relies somewhat on self reported information about property availability by employing thousands of researchers that call every broker out there and ask for listing info. You could theoretically get better data in one small sub market with a \u201cboots on the ground\u201d approach, but there\u2019s no way you can compete with costars scale in any major market. And costar is notoriously litigious and aggressively muscles any startup competitor out of the space", "replies": [{"id": "e7wvtlq", "text": "I understand fully how you would think that CoStar cannot be overstepped and agree with you. \n\nI do find that there is a large gap in the market where there is scarce online representation of roughly five thousand listings throughout Brooklyn and Queens alone. These include anything that is listed \u2018on the street\u2019 - meaning that it has a landlord\u2019s \u2018Available\u2019 sign with random phone number or a RE agent\u2019s branded sign with no other online listing info other than their own website\u2019s info. \n\nSo our target market is these very listings. These listings have no \u2018platform\u2019 to be put on - they either get the landlord\u2019s phone number on a plain sign, a real estate agent\u2019s sign with their website and phone number, or nothing at all. \n\nI failed to fully explain the target market when first posing the question. I know that this section of CRE (storefront retail and misc office space) isn\u2019t what pays the bills for most CRE brokers, but it is these listings that we are going after with our platform. \n\nOur business goal is not to be the best listing service for all the higher end CRE - instead we want to be the \u2018go to\u2019 listing service for all the misc listings that fall between the gaps of representation.  There is a lot of $ to be made there - in taking all the misc listings onto a MLS platform that caters to the retail and class B office space. \n\nRemember, we are trying to list 5k properties on this platform with each paying $10/Mo. CoStar isn\u2019t going to pay attention to us since we are only going after the listings that most CRE\u2019s don\u2019t want to waste their time on. \n\nDoes anyone see this vision? ", "replies": [{"id": "e890w08", "text": "&gt;I do find that there is a large gap in the market where there is scarce online representation of roughly five thousand listings throughout Brooklyn and Queens alone. These include anything that is listed \u2018on the street\u2019 - meaning that it has a landlord\u2019s \u2018Available\u2019 sign with random phone number or a RE agent\u2019s branded sign with no other online listing info other than their own website\u2019s info.\n\nI hate to break this to you, but as a former (thank God) CoStar employee, they already call all those people.  The research staff above poster mentioned are sent EVERY 'space available with a number' sign photo that the CoStar photographers find and bombard those people with calls to put up listings.", "replies": [{"id": "e89q9qy", "text": "Can you give me some insight (as a former employee) as to what the landlord\u2019s intentions are with their available spaces? \n\nWhy are they not listing on CoStar with you guys calling them? What are their main objections? Why do they continue to represent their own properties and not either hire a broker or list on the CoStar platform? ", "replies": [], "depth": 10}], "depth": 9}], "depth": 8}], "depth": 7}, {"id": "e7uww4t", "text": "After reading through all of these comments, I'm truly confident that you're not going anywhere with this. As a real estate professional who will put aside ego and judgement for a second. I really think it's in your best interest to find something else to do and fast. What will you do if a downturn hits tomorrow? Let me tell you something big picture, real estate is cyclical and very market dependent. \n\nThings like startups and new technologies will the be the first to go. \n\nAlso, I can give you a real answer as to what's better than Costar. Highly paid research professionals. You need teams that cold call. At the end of the day, good brokers have their own photos and marketing packages. The thing they really need, is accurate comps. I don't just mean you got them by calling a broker up and saying please tell me about the deal. You need real accurate comps with every detail. But the industry knows better than to let it slip. It would challenge the top producers' positions. Maybe you should just go get a job at CBRE that produces and buys technology monthly. They won't go under in a down market either.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "e7uo1ff", "text": "As someone who was in the cre database/data collection space for many years, CoStar will only let you compete on a mini market level. The moment you attempt to grow outside is a mini market, they\u2019ll take control via buying you or suing you for \u201cstealing\u201d \u201ctheir\u201d data that a broker provided you, and you\u2019ll have no clue how, or even that, it had happened. \n\nThe fact you asked \u201cwho has CoStar put out of business\u201d shows you have a lot to read up on. Please read the most recent Bisnow article about CoStar, and make sure you understand what you\u2019re getting into. It\u2019s my honest anonymous internet person opinion that attempting to compete with CoStar is a terrible idea, not because there isn\u2019t an opportunity, but because they have a total and compete stranglehold on the elements of data that you need in order to compete. They\u2019ve single handledly become the historical archive for data that ALL brokers reference in he US. \n\nI hope for the best with Crexi, but I see no reason to think they would not be the next up for litigation... whenever CoStar wants to shut them down they can and will. ", "replies": [{"id": "e7ux31s", "text": "Well said. You know who has a great platform is Yardi. It's quick and accurate. Very nice UI and well thought out system that flows between map, individual comps and lists. There's just a lack of comps in buildings below 50k. Which deals are turning towards that with all the creative office trends we're seeing. I hope they make it past Costars arrogant and outdated litigiousness.", "replies": [{"id": "e7yzb6c", "text": "i also hear good things about yardi matrix. but it's limited to specific product types as i understand, and doesn't have lease comps.\n\nyardi matrix bought pierce eislen (try going to r/http://www.pi-ei.com) years ago which was just multifamily.\n\ni hear they added self-storage too, but not sure what other product types they cover.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}, {"id": "e7z00qe", "text": "i think this is the article ur referring to...\n\n[https://therealdeal.com/issues\\_articles/how-costar-became-a-15-billion-dollar-juggernaut/](https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/how-costar-became-a-15-billion-dollar-juggernaut/)\n\noh and don't forget the follow-on...\n\n[https://therealdeal.com/2018/10/04/costar-files-7-federal-lawsuits-against-alleged-freeloaders/](https://therealdeal.com/2018/10/04/costar-files-7-federal-lawsuits-against-alleged-freeloaders/)\n\n&amp;#x200B;", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e7uc7sd", "text": "Any new CRE platform needs to prioritize Videos.  This has not yet been done however there are a couple of sites considering it (Crexi, etc).  It is only a matter of time before this happens. \n\nStrict rules on using correct CRE terminology.  For example, this one pisses me off every day (I look to purchase  certain types of commercial properties across the US), the add will say:   NNN with minimal LL responsibilities.  That statement is not only incorrect, it is an oxymoron.  You cannot have a NNN lease with minimal (or any) LL responsibilities.  \"If\" there are any LL responsibilities then it is either Gross, MG or N or NN lease.  Although the term \"Absolute NNN\" is used throughout the country, there is no such thing.   There is such a thing as NNNN lease.  \n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nIt would also be nice to be able to Search properties by Excluding states.  All platforms today only let you Include states, not exclude.  For example: I will purchase anywhere in the US except CA and IL.  No platform lets me do that.\n\nI will get off my soapbox now.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\n \n\n&amp;#x200B;", "replies": [{"id": "e7ud5t0", "text": "I agree that the terms are \u2018bent\u2019 and cause users to have to scrutinize every property much further than necessary. I also find that correct information leads to quick and confident decisions. Allowing the terms and such to be misleading only adds to the inability to size up a deal. \n\nAs for the videos - I do agree that this is the future. Videos would need to have decent production quality and follow a standard format, i.e. show the entire space, steadicam, aerial, floorplan, etc. \n\n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "e7ukrpu", "text": "CREXI is a nice service that seems like the new thing that will/has caught on. My only knock on crexi are the search options, although specific, are not specific enough. \n\nAll a listing service like loopnet is a platform for brokers to post things. There are a lot of brokers that have the capital and a streamlined process to add videos/floor plans/professional photos/ aerials directly in the package. \n\nI work with STNL disposition team that sales around 130 properties a year so that might be a little easier and not as needed as say an office or industrial broker trying to sell a deal.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]