How much does costar cost?

Commercial Real Estate Investing
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How much does costar cost?

Mark Vieira
Petaluma, CA · Member since 2011 · 32 posts · 9 votes

Can anyone give any insight as to what costar costs? I know it varies, and their website is very ambiguous, but I wanted to see if anyone knew what it would cost for a single license for a small investing business. I am interested in the full package with comps, lease comps, tenants, etc. In addition does anyone know any tricks for getting the service cheaper?

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Karen MargraveBusiness Member
Moderator
Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y

Mark Vieira Are you an agent? What type of property are you interested in? I just signed up for Prospect Now, it's $79 per month. It's usually $89, but they had a 'coupon'. You can go on to Youtube, and search Prospect Now, there's several of their training videos that show you all that it does. You can run comps, find owners, absentee owners, etc. It's for commercial, apartments, and industrial.

I'm not in any way affiliated with the company, just a customer.

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  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    9y

    Loopnet has a lot of crap on it now. Lot's of junk properties with overpriced crap that brokers and sellers put on it as a last resort. They are hoping some newbie buyer who does not know how to properly evaluate properties will snatch them up.

    Occasionally you will run into a quality property on there but very rare compared to 3 to 4 years ago. Most deals today are done with pocket listings or off market. I have quality buyers I work with so I get presented deals often. Any kind of flaky buyer they want oddball strategies and out of touch with markets forget it. Those types do not get the time of day.

    I have a full time office person in my building where we have our own database of developers,direct owners, other brokerages, and property management companies to source off market properties from. We continue to build the database over many years. 

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  • Will F.
    Investor · Los Angeles County, CA · Member since 2012 · 962 posts · 279 votes
    9y

    Hey @Joel Owens  Ive seen that mentioned that Loopnet is where overpriced properties go to die....etc

    But as a commercial broker, if you're really trying to get top dollar for a commerical property, why not put it on loopnet, costar, MLS and all mediums to get the most views possible? Wouldn't that be the best?

    I've bought commercial properties off of Loopnet

    If you're an agent/broker selling a property wouldn't more exposure be better in general?

    0Reply
  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    9y

    Some brokerages have internal lists of experienced buyers and also brokers with good and credible buyers.

    You put it on Loopnet you get a lot of green buyers many not even knowing what they are looking at. 

    The good stuff goes out to internal buyers and then also goes to brokers like me who have high quality buyers.

    I don't list low quality assets so Loopnet is not essential for selling.

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  • Will F.
    Investor · Los Angeles County, CA · Member since 2012 · 962 posts · 279 votes
    9y

    what's areyour thoughts on costar @Joel Owens is it worth t as a landlord to just pay for month-6month ad. For mom and pop C building

    0Reply
  • Will F.
    Investor · Los Angeles County, CA · Member since 2012 · 962 posts · 279 votes
    9y

    Any mom and pop landlords listing their commercial leases directly on Costar or Loopnet?

    Experience?

    0Reply
  • Anthony C.
    Joliet, IL · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 3 votes
    9y

    Too much. They are charging me almost $300 per month but all I get are current listings, no closed sale data, no tenant data, no lease data. They are a total rip off. They provide zero value to my business and zero service. They will tell you whatever they think you want to hear to get you to sign, then they will browbeat you with the contract. There are better less expensive solutions.

    3Reply
  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    9y

    Yeah it's a money pit. Other ways to get way better returns for the money and time invested.

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  • Michelle R.
    Investor · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 46 posts · 5 votes
    9y

    What are the better, less expensive solutions to Costar? 

    I do have a Costar subscription, just wondering what else is out there?

    0Reply
  • Frank Ruffolo
    Member since 2018 · 1 post · 0 votes
    8y

    how much does it cost

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Broker · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2018 · 83 posts · 28 votes
    8y

    I just signed on for AZ market for $479 a month, 12 month contract!  Need some investors!  Yes, I am a Broker.

    1Reply
  • Carlos Joel Garcia
    Bangor, PA · Member since 2018 · 8 posts · 6 votes
    7y

    Well, all of these comments are excellent feedback. BP should be looking at these comments and start thinking in this market. Imagine brokers get a free membership or some sort of ROI if their posted property sale through BP.

    Come on, these companies know they have us in a tight corner, as a community, we have to start thinking outside the box.  

    Thank you

    Investor

    1Reply
  • Scott McElhaney
    Investor · Mount Pleasant, SC · Member since 2017 · 27 posts · 18 votes
    5y

    I spoke with CoStar today. Their new minimum monthly fee for investor/owners is $850/month. It goes no cheaper than $850/mo.

    1Reply
  • Steve Morris
    Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Call your CoStar local guy since they have some latitude on rates depending on how bad they want you,  Price can go from $200 to close to $600 or more per month per broker (again, I am NOT a COSTAR employee, CALL THEM FOR RATES).  What changes rates are:

    1) How many sign-ons are you buying.  It only works on ONE computer per sign-on since they need a cert.  If you want everyone in the brokerage, it'll be less per broker

    2) How big a territory - Local up to National comps?

    3) Are you willing to pay for a upgrade on LoopNet, apartments.com, etc.?

    4) What modules?  I'd get just basic transaction reporting, but think they have analytics at an extra charge.

    I will say that they are prob the best (not perfect) for reporting sales comps.  You want rent comps, might be better to just call on your own case-by-case.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Member since 2021 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    I think it costs you about $49.95/month

    0Reply
  • Andrew R. Zaplitny
    Real Estate Agent · Cave Creek, AZ · Member since 2016 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    5y
    Mark Vieira, as of April 14th, 2021, I have been quoted 395.00/mo (assuming a 12mo contract). That would be for Arizona data/listings (Maricopa & Pinal Counties), and access to the National Database of Active Properties available for Sale only - no Lease Listings.
    1Reply
  • Kevin O'Connor
    Specialist · Glastonbury, CT · Member since 2021 · 8 posts · 5 votes
    5y

    Mark, I know a lot of People have chimed in. CoStar is very expensive some hold licenses for 10's of thousands per year.  Shoot me a message if you wanted to pull some specific reports, Id be happy to assets with that. 

    0Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Mark Vieira:

    Can anyone give any insight as to what costar costs? I know it varies, and their website is very ambiguous, but I wanted to see if anyone knew what it would cost for a single license for a small investing business. I am interested in the full package with comps, lease comps, tenants, etc. In addition does anyone know any tricks for getting the service cheaper?

     Way too much for what they provide.

    1Reply
  • Eric Aherin
    Member since 2021 · 1 post · 1 vote
    5y

    I use CoStar for my appraisal business and I have a grandfathered rate. They just started a new service called CoStar complete which includes all of the US and Canada and I pay around $500/mo, I think for a new user it is around $700+, but as said before check with your local rep. 

    1Reply
  • Chad Carrodus
    Realtor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2018 · 139 posts · 90 votes
    5y

    Too much. Use Crexi and find a pal with a Costar login

    0Reply
  • Lawson Cronic
    New to Real Estate · Athens, GA · Member since 2021 · 15 posts · 6 votes
    5y

    New here, may I ask what is CoStar?

    0Reply
  • Jason Mileshko
    United States · Member since 2021 · 125 posts · 49 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Mark Vieira:

    Can anyone give any insight as to what costar costs? I know it varies, and their website is very ambiguous, but I wanted to see if anyone knew what it would cost for a single license for a small investing business. I am interested in the full package with comps, lease comps, tenants, etc. In addition does anyone know any tricks for getting the service cheaper?

     Hundreds of dollars per month depending on what services you get. I would say that $400 is common. It is worth it if you are actively investing in commercial properties. 

    0Reply
  • Zach LemasterBusiness Member
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y

    @Mark Vieira

    Can you get in with a brokerage for an account?  Should cost less than $100 a month if so.

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  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    4y

    Yeah I used to say no way but this year instead of charging by market and having separate fees for different types of data they offered me an inclusive national data package with everything for 400 plus dollars a month. I do one deal off of the data a year where I make 100k to 1 million upside per property then it's worth it. 

    It all depends on what you are using it for if you will see value in it's cost.  

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  • Bhekizwe M.
    Bulawayo, Zimbabwe · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 253 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Joel Owens:

    Why would you spend almost 26,000 a year to them when you can get all of this from a commercial broker?

    Unless you are a commercial broker.

    It depends on what you focus on.

    I choose to spend my money mailing to property owners and working the tax records for only the time.

    Costar is a middle man and it is outrageous what they charge. Locking yourself into contracts at high monthly fees is a sure way to go out of business. I learned long ago to keep costs low and stay efficient. I do not need all the accolades just the business and closings.

    Costar and Loopnet merged. Every 6 months some newbie at Costar or Loopnet will call trying to sell me crap. I get through the spiel in about 20 seconds and tell them no thanks. 

    These workers get paid on people committing to contracts.   

    Thank you for the pointers.Sometimes as business owners we need to ask those hard questions to stay lean and relevant

    0Reply
  • Marian Huish
    Real Estate Broker · DC MD, VA & NV · Member since 2014 · 512 posts · 292 votes
    3y

    Depending on your needs @Mark Vieira, you may also want to look in to CREXI.

    0Reply
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