Certain sites are available to list and search for properties at no charge but may offer additional services on a fee basis. Other sites require membership fees for their use. Almost all sites (even if they are free) require a registration process. Most sites are searchable by type of property, size, price range and geographically by town or county within states.
www.loopnet.com
Loopnet is one of the largest national commercial listing services, currently boasting over 2.7 million visitors per month. It contains hundreds of thousands of commercial and investment property listings. You may search for properties for either sale or lease, with many different criteria's to select; and place your listings on the system. Basic service is free, but restricted unless you pay a fee to become a premium member.
www.commercialsource.com
This is the website developed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) for commercial properties. It is a huge free database of commercial and investment property listings. You can search and put a basic listing on the site.
www.propertyline.com
Property Line International, Inc. provides a free service; you may place your listings on the system and search for properties in their significant national inventory. They have over 200,000 commercial real estate professionals as members. Additional services are available for a fee.
www.commrex.com
Commrex.com is a national commercial property information exchange covering many areas of the country. They have listings in many states that can be searched for without cost. There is an annual fee to put an unlimited amount of listings on the site. They provide broadcast email services and other marketing "tools" to their members for a fee.
www.dealmakers.net
The "Dealmakers" website is free and nationally lists properties for sale or lease and customer requirements. The format is different than most systems; notices are placed in narrative form. Searches are by property type and geographic location. The site also features free e-mail forums, such as: Commercial, Investment Real Estate, Net Biz For Sale, Property For Lease, ESP Retailing and Tenant Tip. In particular, I like the "Tenant Tips" group, posted there are national retailers looking for space, it includes their criteria and contact information.
www.CIMLS.com
The Commercial Investment MLS was established in 2001 and now has over 250,000 members. This national site allows searching and listing of commercial properties without cost. Additional marketing services are available for a fee.
www.realup.com
This national site provides searching and listing of properties for free. Only launched in 2009, it has grown considerably and has partnership with most of the national commercial brokerage firms whose listings are automatically forwarded to the site. Marketing packages are available for a fee.
Organizational Sites
There are many real estate organizations that have web sites. Some are national, as most of the examples below; but in different states and local areas many commercial real estate groups exist, many with websites. Search the internet for commercial organizations in your area.
www.ccim.com
An affiliate of the National Association of Realtors is the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) Institute. This group provides a series of extensive educational courses leading to the CCIM designation.
www.sior.com
The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) is also an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors This organization provides educational programs in their area of specialty leading to the SIOR designation.
www.icsc.org
International Council of Shopping Centers website offers information about their organization and retailers. This group has conventions throughout the country during the year. Its largest gathering is in Las Vegas, generally in May each year where tens of thousands of retailers, developers and brokers gather to do business.
www.USGBC.org
The U.S. Green Building Council's website leads you to green education opportunities, LEED rating systems, resources, news & events and an opportunity to join local chapters.
www.NYSCAR.com
The New York State Commercial Association of Realtors site gives information about their organization and chapter events. They serve as the political "watchdog" for commercial agents in NYS, alerting us of potential laws that may benefit or harm our industry.
Real Estate News:
Being on top of the real estate news, knowing what is going on in our industry is important to your knowledge as a professional. Subscribe to e-news about real estate, in most cases news is free. Some examples follow:
www.globest.com
Globe Street provides daily national and regional real estate news about deals, trends and other industry information. You may sign up for various "Daily Alerts" at no cost.
www.RISMedia.com
Subscribe to "Today's Real Estate Advisor" for free daily articles on real estate. Although many of the articles are written to the residential side, many of the tips and concepts can be applied to commercial real estate too. They do have other services available for a fee.
www.inman.com
Inman News specializes in real estate information and articles. This national "paper" has a special section just for commercial real estate, but requires a fee for full information
Edward Smith, Jr. CREI, ITI, CIC, RECS, GREEN, MICP, serves as northeast regional director of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, Syosset, N.Y.