When you search online for a commercial building, you likely assume that the listings you’re seeing are the most relevant to your criteria. But, the reality may be quite different. Rather than prioritizing the most relevant listings, many commercial real estate marketplaces are opting to push those that pay for premium marketing services. This practice is not always apparent to the searchers, as there is minimal transparency regarding which listings are genuinely a good match for the search criteria and which are simply being promoted due to paid advertising.
LoopNet, the largest commercial real estate listing site by far, exemplifies this trend. They offer a variety of “ad packages” that range from approximately $50 per month to $1,099 per month. Their top-tier offering, the Diamond Digital Marketing package, claims to provide up to 1,535 times more exposure than a standard free listing. This package includes benefits such as a larger image and a top listing position not only on LoopNet but also across other platforms owned by the parent company, CoStar, including CoStar News, Apartments.com, and Ten-X. In addition, brokers using this package can upload a list of their prospects, and CoStar will specifically target these individuals with ads on other platforms, such as news sites.
A newer competitor to LoopNet, Crexi, has also entered the market with its own set of “Pro” plans that enhance listing visibility. These paid memberships not only boost listings but also include features such as targeted email campaigns that spotlight specific properties. While Crexi does not publicly disclose its pricing, it is widely believed to be more affordable than LoopNet, as Crexi continues to work on gaining market share in the competitive landscape of commercial real estate marketplaces.
Yardi, another player in the commercial real estate listing space, operates its own platform called CommercialSearch. Yardi offers two options for boosting listings, priced at $300 and $500 per month. The higher-tier option comes with a degree of exclusivity, limiting Diamond sponsors to just two per market at any given time. This exclusivity also extends to other Yardi-owned sites, including CommercialCafe and PropertyShark.
The dominance of a few companies in controlling the majority of online commercial real estate marketplaces has led to a business model heavily reliant on paid advertising. While this approach is highly profitable for these platforms, it presents challenges for some brokerages. Marketing a commercial real estate property is an expensive endeavor. Brokers must invest in professional photography, signage, and listing the property across multiple marketplaces. What may initially seem like a straightforward task—posting a property listing—has now become a more complex and costly process. To maximize the visibility and effectiveness of their listings, brokers and sellers are finding that they need to invest in these premium ad packages, which can eat into their hard-earned commissions.
The trend toward paid listings is not without its critics. Some argue that this practice creates an uneven playing field, where only those with the budget to afford premium ad packages can expect their listings to gain significant visibility. Smaller brokerages or individual sellers, who may not have the resources to compete with larger firms, could find their properties languishing in obscurity, overshadowed by those with deeper pockets.
Until a new real estate marketplace emerges to challenge these established players, brokers will likely continue to face the reality that achieving top placement in property search results will come at a cost. This pay-to-play model is reshaping the landscape of commercial real estate marketing, and brokers must adapt to this new reality or risk being left behind.
In the meantime, buyers and tenants searching for commercial properties may need to exercise caution and awareness. Understanding that the listings they see first may not necessarily be the best match for their needs but rather the result of paid promotion can help them make more informed decisions. As the commercial real estate industry continues to evolve, transparency in listing practices and the development of new, more equitable marketplaces will be key to ensuring that all players, regardless of size, have a fair shot at success.
