My Costar Quote was INSANE as expected - details inside
I hate that Costar is a monopoly, but I have to admit, their commercial real estate property/loan/market data is worth the investment.

Anyways, I had a call with Costar a couple weeks ago.  Their pricing for a one-woman operation based in LA is below.  They essentially bill their customers on a sliding scale... so rate per employee is determined by AUM, number of employees, firm size, etc.  EDIT: For comparison, larger firms are paying \~$4500pp per month.

**Costar Monthly Rates per Person** \- assuming no contract\*

|Local Market|$395|
|:-|:-|
|Regional Market|$695|
|State Market|$995|
|National Market|$1395|

\**Reduced rates available for annual contracts*

&amp;#x200B;
[{"id": "gcvfkvi", "text": "Yeah they are not cheap but they will negotiate decently far for a contract.  Are you willing to commit for a few years?", "replies": [{"id": "gcvnh3l", "text": "Idk... I have long-term commitment issues. ;) The 2-year commitment rates are \\~50% less so that's likely the move.", "replies": [{"id": "gcwjtrd", "text": "Correct, we do two year contracts with a firm of about 15 and we are paying around $350 for state wide coverage.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "gcx5cra", "text": "Costar is a dumpster fire right now. Large layoffs and reorg because they're worried about revenue  You might be able to do a little better than 50%", "replies": [{"id": "gcy8411", "text": "Definitely not somewhere I\u2019d want to work!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}, {"id": "gd0oxsx", "text": "This is such a lie lmao. Hating CoStar is all and fair but they hire more and more reps and have acquired two big companies in the past year. Come up with something more believable next time", "replies": [{"id": "gd0pr1s", "text": "...why would I lie about something like that? A close friend works at costar and is currently getting fucked by them.\n\nAlso, have you not received a call from your \"new\" account manager? They fired all the CRM people and sales people are taking their place.", "replies": [{"id": "gd0q24o", "text": "Researchers took the place of their trainers/\u201cCRM\u2019s\u201d. I had a conversation with a researcher literally today and they did it to expand their sales force. I agree that we can all manage without CoStar sales calls, but to say they\u2019re hurting for revenue is just not true", "replies": [{"id": "gd0xk33", "text": "Because we all know how well internet advertising does in recessions. I'm sure loopnet is peachy keen. They're advertising office space, which is very in demand. And I'm sure my company is the only firm in CRE right now that's asking \"how many of these costar seats are necessary\".\n\nAll's I know for sure, my friend is saying those sales people don't want the new roles and everyone is half preparing to get canned or given some new role only loosely related to their job title. She's been screwed out of a non-trivial proportion of her comp because of a game of musical chairs with their job titles and she sees a decent chance of being let go 3-6 months. She told me she's had to have lots of \"hard conversations\"", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvfmau", "text": "Seems pretty reasonable...Bloomberg uses a non-sliding scale for Equities and costs 24k per year. The data both companies offer is comparable for their respective industries.", "replies": [{"id": "gcvmvud", "text": "Ya, there's definitely a solid ROI as well.  Not to mention the tax deduction, which I'm positive is already baked into their rates.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvhytq", "text": "I'm surprised it's that cheap for LA.  If you actually do business this is a nice little barrier to entry - just enough to keep the Realtor(R) crowd out, but easily paid for out of even the smallest commissions.", "replies": [{"id": "gcvlzzc", "text": "Very good point!  Actually, the insane prices are paid by the largest firms at ~$4,500/pp per month.  But to your point, larger firm = larger deals/commissions.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvkwme", "text": "I am pretty much a one man operation in Chicago.  I probably pay about that for costar on an annual (this year I did a few gold ads so add 9k), 2,500ish for loopnet I think.  For better or worse they have a stranglehold on the market.  To be perfectly honest though my fees were a drop in the bucket so I don't mind too much.  If you're planning on doing a handful of 1,000 sf leases per year it's probably not worth it.  If you're doing any acquisition, sales, development, management, large leasing etc. it easily pays for itself.", "replies": [{"id": "gcvo27j", "text": "Very true, agreed.  Gold ads -- you advertised your services on Costar?  How was the ROI on that?", "replies": [{"id": "gcvqaam", "text": "I think I have 10 silver ads standard.  I had 3 deals that would net me between 40k and 50k.  No problem dropping the 3k on that if I don't get something through networking or 30-60 days on the listing.  On something under that commission I may wait longer or not do one at all.  Most of my deals are usually through networking, but this year I'm turning some extra stones.  Oh all 3 closed within a month or two of going gold.  Although I did both sides so it's hard to say if or how much the increased exposure helped.  3 deals is a pretty small sample size.", "replies": [{"id": "gcy7lkg", "text": "Nice!!! Sounds like it\u2019s worth spending the extra money as necessary.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gcwhrch", "text": "They own loopnet too so you might as well just say the total amount to CoStar lol", "replies": [{"id": "gcx566v", "text": "Loopnet is surprisingly autonomous. Have a friend who works there", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvq9no", "text": "unpopular opinion: the people that bitch about costar all the time are the ones that secretly know they couldn't do their job without it. \n\nNot an attack at you just a general statement lol.", "replies": [{"id": "gcvw7eu", "text": "Non-taken.  I love costar and have successfully thrived this past year without it.  \nWhat I dislike is how it dominates the market.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gcvwb6p", "text": "We grumble about our $36K a year but couldn\u2019t do our job without it.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "gcxw8yz", "text": "Of course you can\u2019t live without it the data is necessary to do our jobs and they are the only resource available to get it from.  They have spent a lot of money making sure that they are the only resource available so you have to pay their ridiculous prices or you can\u2019t do your work. We need it and they know it so they make sure they are the only people who can provide their service.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvz46a", "text": "We pay about 85k in yearly co star subs, you get what you pay for.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcvzp4a", "text": "Yes, but there is more. \n\nFirst these are starting rates for a brokerage. There is a different rate scale for owners, vendors, PMs etc. Same product, different price. If you do more than one thing.... Ask your rep what your options are.\n\nAlso there is often a discount for multi-year contracts.\n\nAlso - there is 4.5% yearly rate increase. You will NOT receive a friendly email from CoStar Corp reminding you, and by the time you have an invoice/pmt withdrawal with the rate increase you'll be outside of the 60 day notification of cancel prior to renewal. However - if you buy from a local rep vs the call center in DC/VA, you have a better chance of negotiating a credit to cover the increase. As everyone is working over the phone ask what market the caller is from. The local reps are proud to be local vs the call center guys.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcw9pls", "text": "They offered you no contract? I am speaking with them for the last couple of months and they won't budge to give me a 6-month contract, only 12 months. Can I have the name (if you want to DM me) of your rep?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcwojot", "text": "My issue is i pay $195/mo for costar and then 223/mo for just 3 listings through loopnet its nuts", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcwqqy7", "text": "I work for costar in Cincinnati. Feel free to DM me for a straight answer on any of the costar or LoopNet or gold ads \n\nI have been here for 3.5 years and know it in and out", "replies": [{"id": "gddo83k", "text": "Is the upgrade from Silver to Gold actually worth it?", "replies": [{"id": "gdeqh5t", "text": "I tend to think so. Tbh it probably depends on the listing. If you're leasing a 1,000sf space for 15/sf it may not make financial sense. Selling, other vacancies, larger assets with consistent vacancies then yes. Get about 50x the amount of exposure. Especially in social distancing more and more tenants and investors are looking online.\n\nWant to DM me and I can walk you thru it all?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcws5bd", "text": "Wait until you find out how much it costs to put your listing on loopnet..", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gcx0nqz", "text": "They call me and I basically break into a comedy routine how they are calling me for market data... to sell back to me... oh how we laugh.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gex5vg8", "text": "How do you utilize their loan data?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "gfcpt0h", "text": "That\u2019s pretty good! I pay more but also have several people and the cost per person drops as you as more people. Data is worth the money as an investor IMO.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]