Posted by Kyle Miller on July 11, 2006 at 12:38:40:
Bill et al,
My perspective as a commercial broker in Silicon Valley:
Loopnet -Sales: Most publically marketed properties seem to end up here sooner or later. Ray’s view of it as a microcosm of the real world is accurate, and often there are more wishful thinking listings than deals. As in the real world, eventually (3-24+ months) the right user/redevelopment/etc. make the deal, the seller’s actual price point is reached, the seller adjusts to the market, or the market otherwise reaches the sales price. Also as a microcosm of the real world, there’s a lot of property that is sold before it is ever publicly marketed. Quite often listing info is left up long after a property is sold.
Loopnet -Leasing: In the publically marketed leasing market, Loopnet is more of an afterthought for the major commercial brokerages of Silicon Valley. Information tends to be old/outdated and not comprehensive. That being said, we’ll often look at it for clients that have small requirements or to make sure we didn’t miss anything by capturing the residential agent/small investor one-off commercial listings that can appear here.
CoStar: It’s really not much of a factor in Silicon Valley, although I understand it’s definitely more established elsewhere. In our area, none of the major brokerages want to give them our data just to have it sold back to us. Only a couple of larger brokerages use it (its technology) to market their listings. Perhaps as a function of the “good ol’ boys club” mentality in commercial real estate, few brokerages want to cooperate with the service / provide listing info to them even in response to a call. Rumor has it, their research (contacting brokerages to ascertain active listings & details) was outsourced to India. I’ve no idea if that is true or not. Maybe somebody else can give info on what CoStar is like in their area.
Loopnet summary: Worth looking at (premium only), particularly for actively marketed sales property. Just bear in mind that the investor deals are not as common as the listings and usually completely different from the listing price.
CoStar summary: Generally worthless (in my opinion) in Silicon Valley, although it does power a couple of brokerages (which I would access by going directly to the brokerage site/giving a call). Might be a very valuable resource elsewhere.
Posted by CAInvestor on July 09, 2006 at 18:09:55:
Have you or anyone you know ever actually purchased or sold a property through this web site. I am in no way bad mouthing this service, it is simply that I have yet to find a reasonably priced raw land deal there, in my area, in the last year or so that I have been a member. The only purchases I have made have come from working with a group of brokers.
I find Loopnet to be a microcosm of the real world… meaning there are a lot more properties for sale than deals.
That said, I have bought and sold over $20mm in property with through the site over the past few years. But it takes persistence to cull through the non-starters.
For me, the premium service is a necessity (this is a comment, not an endorsement). When buying I set up detailed criteria for alerts to properties in the market I’m targeting. When selling I make good use of the email function by sending customized messages designed to pique interest. We also use the For Lease side of the site, though it doesn’t get as much traffic as the for sale listings.
However, Loopnet is just one of many tools in the bag. Raw land is typically marketed locally because owners don’t think about a national audience, and a lot of brokers don’t either. When I’m doing development projects I usually let the demographics steer me to the right neighborhood, then start tracking down owners of tracts that fit my criteria.
Posted by Bill Taylor on July 10, 2006 at 22:38:11:
Ray have you heard of a site I think a realtor mentioned to me today called like Co-Star for realtors? I may have the name wrong but I mentioned to him Loopnet and he told me commercial realtors are more tuned in to this other site.
Posted by CAInvestor on July 10, 2006 at 19:27:16:
Completely agree about the premium service after having tried the free service only for a few weeks. As one would expect, their CA listings for developed properties are more extensive than the “show me raw land” side, although the listed cap rates are ludicrous. Cap rates in the 3’s, 4’s, and 5’s? For non-credit retail tenant’s? Who pays that? Where are these buyers when I have a center fully leased with credit tenants to sell?
Perhaps I should list my next property there and sell for a 4 cap instead of a 7.
Thanks for reading, thanks for responding, and I hope all is well for you and yours!
Posted by CAInvestor on July 11, 2006 at 24:55:35:
Bill, I had a tenant mention that site, I’m pretty sure it was that one, a while back but if it’s the same one he indicated it was more geared as a data base for available retail space for tenants than a listing service of available investment properties or land for developement.