We are petitioning the FTC to re-examine the Costar-Loopnet and to break it into many separate companies.  We are also petitioning the Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors to initiate a lawsuit against Costar-Loopnet to stop their anti-competitive practices.  

Costar has used aggressive lawsuits, aquisitions, and "public-relations warfare" to become a monopoly in the world of Commercial Real Estate.   Good overview is found on RealDeal: https://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/how-costar-became-a-15-billion-dollar-juggernaut/  

As Costar-Loopnet acquires competitors, it raises fees and to their customers--after Xcelligent filed bankruptcy, the average fee they charged their customers increased 80%!  The FTC only allowed Costar to acquire loopnet in 2012 if they spun off Xcelligent, which no longer exists.  

Morningstar characterized Costar-Loopnet as a "borderline monopoly" and having "no true threats in terms of competition."  Elie Finegold, CBRE, said Costar has "cultivated an adversarial approach to custormers".  I've experienced this in my own business, and believe it's time to break Costar apart.  

Acquisitions include: Ten-X, Rentpath, STR, Off Campus Partners, Apartments.com, Landwatch (including landsofamerica and landandfarm.com) Loopnet, Bizbuysell, and others.  

Please share with others and help us break Costar!