On the Web.

CoStar Group, Inc. announced that it has completed transition of its subscription-based information services from desktop applications to the fully Web-based technology platform released in December 2002.

On December 1, 2003, the company delivered the final desktop data update for CoStar Property, a comprehensive researched database of office, industrial and retail properties across the U.S. Approximately 40,000 commercial real estate professionals rely on CoStar Property's database and software tools to find available space, analyze market conditions, accurately value properties, and to position properties for lease or sale in the marketplace. CoStar released the first desktop version of CoStar Property in 1990.

CoStar Property Professional, the current web-based version, was released in December 2002 as the anchor of CoStar's next-generation technology platform. Following the initial release. CoStar deployed 12 major upgrades during 2003, including the recent release of an Analytics module and CoStar Professional Directory. The new web-based version replaces several Windows-based applications that had been in service since 1995.

"Our new web-based technology enables us to provide our customers with higher data quality and advanced features that can only be achieved in an Internet platform," said CoStar president and CEO Andrew C. Florance. "We've released more software upgrades in the first year of our new web platform than we had in the previous 12 years with our desktop system."

"Now that we are no longer maintaining dual platforms, we believe that we can better, control costs associated with delivering the product while providing customers with a higher level of service. This allows us to channel our resources into supporting and enhancing our core products."

According to Florance, CoStar Property Professional has been very well received, as evidenced by customers' rapid adoption of the new platform. Average weekly page views in CoStar Property Professional reached a record high of 3.9 million for the week ended December 6, 2003, an increase of 56% since the week ended June 28, 2003.

CoStar Property Professional has all of the most popular features from the desktop application, and breakthrough features such as CoStar's patent-pending map search and peer group analysis that are only available in the Web version.

In addition, CoStar's new technology platform is developed with enhanced security features that help prevent and detect the unauthorized use and copying of its services. CoStar uses certificate-based authenticating technology in all of its Web-based services to digitally verify and associate a user ID and password with one particular computer. The company also has developed proprietary software that monitors incoming addresses to detect fraudulent use. CoStar also announced it has retired the desktop version of CoStar Tenant.