Realty World.San Francisco-based LoopNet Inc. and L.A.-based PropertyFirst.com announced last week that they are merging, creating what they said would be the commercial real estate industry's largest site where brokers can shop for office space and commercial property. Interestingly, among the company's largest shareholders is Homestore.com Inc., the Westlake Village-based company that has cornered the online residential real estate market. With the merger, Homestore is getting a solid foothold foot·hold n. 1. A place providing support for the foot in climbing or standing. 2. A firm or secure position that provides a base for further advancement. foothold Noun 1. in the online commercial real estate market. "We want to have a significant influence in the commercial business," said James Marrelli, Homestore's vice president of corporate planning. Homestore was one of the largest shareholders in LoopNet prior to the merger. The preexisting pre·ex·ist or pre-ex·ist v. pre·ex·ist·ed, pre·ex·ist·ing, pre·ex·ists v.tr. To exist before (something); precede: Dinosaurs preexisted humans. v.intr. Homestore/LoopNet alliance included Internet distribution deals, commercial listings and revenue-sharing deals on products and services, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a release issued when the alliance was made in November 1999. Analysts view Homestore's move towards the commercial market as a long-term strategy. "Over time, we expect that Homestore will have tentacles into many parts of online real estate," said Wit SoundView analyst Shawn Milne Shawn Milne (born 9 November 1981) is a professional road bicycle racer from the Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. In 2007, he rides in events on the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar and UCI Continental Circuits for Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis. . Indeed, Homestore has gathered about 1.5 million home listings, or about 95 percent of all the homes listed nationally through professionals. Homestore's main source of revenue is its partnership with the National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is made up of residential and commercial realtors who are brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, and counselors, and others working in the real estate industry. (NAR NAR National Association of REALTORS NAR Nucleic Acids Research (journal) NAR National Association of Rocketry NAR Nationale Arbeidsraad (Dutch: National Labor Council; Brussels, Belgium) ), whose official Web site -- Realtor.com -- is operated by Homestore. Homestore's dominance of the residential market has attracted the attention of antitrust officials, who have been investigating the company for possible anti-competitive practices Anti-competitive practices are business or government practices that prevent and/or reduce competition in a market (see restraint of trade). Anti-competitive practices can include: Nonetheless, U.S. Justice Department officials approved Homestore's Feb. 20 acquisition of Cendant Corp.'s Move.com. That deal was worth an estimated $900 million. Privately held LoopNet and PropertyFirst, which are expected to list more than 145,000 properties with nearly 200,000 users, will go by the LoopNet name. |
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