California Real Estate Technology Services (CARETS) has launched a property-centric commercial MLS powered by the National Association of Realtors’ ePropertyData subsidiary, the companies announced Tuesday.
CARETS is a regional data-sharing effort between 30 Realtor associations in six counties in Southern California serving more than 100,000 members. The CARETS commercial MLS and information exchange will allow users to analyze and compile data, share information and market commercial properties more efficiently, the companies said.
CARETS was already supplying commercial listings to NAR’s 2-year-old commercial listing platform, CommercialSource.com. Now, listings entered into the CARETS commercial MLS will be automatically distributed by ePropertyData to CommercialSource.com, Realtor.com and other websites.
Other sources of listings for CommercialSource.com include the Seattle-based Commercial Brokers Association, the Houston Association of Realtors, the Dayton Area Board of Realtors, and the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors.
LoopNet Inc. remains the dominant player in the commercial listings space, according to WAV Group consultant Victor Lund.
In its last quarterly report to investors, the company said it has grown its listings base during the downturn, from 652,000 at the end of 2008 to 754,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2009.
On Tuesday, CommercialSource.com listed about 179,000 commercial properties for sale or rent, with more than half located in seven states: Florida (23,899 properties), Texas (15,781), Washington (15,282), Illinois (13,473), Michigan (10,298) California (10,167) and North Carolina (9,253).
LoopNet claims most commercial real estate firms in the U.S. as customers, including CB Richard Ellis, Cassidy Turley, Century 21 Commercial, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, Lincoln Property Company, Marcus & Millichap, NAI Global, ProLogis, RE/MAX and Sperry Van Ness.
LoopNet provides services to both commercial sales agents and consumers on a subsription basis, Lund said.
"Some would say that LoopNet is highly successful, others would say that they are holding the commercial real estate industry hostage," Lund said in a blog post welcoming the competition in the space. "I think it will be a long time before commercial agents stop posting listings to LoopNet, but at least they have an alternative," Lund said.
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