CoStar's Trucks Drive for Data

Costar Keeps Truckin' ... I've heard about CoStar's trucks for years, and I've always wondered, "Are they really necessary?"   Now, having seen them in action, I've got my answer.  "Yep, they're absolutely essential."  CoStar's trucks are guided from a mission-control like Field Research Dispatch Center in CoStar's Bethesda, MD headquarters.  The Dispatch Center features a console table, maybe eighteen feet long topped with a half dozen large computer monitors manned by Field Research Managers, who have the responsibility for individual markets.  Each monitor displays a geographical market divided into two-and-a-half-mile grids.  Within each grid you can see the location of each property in the CoStar database and the position of the CoStar truck, including the direction that it's headed or whether it's parked -- all made possible by a GPS system attached to the vehicle. 

Inside the truck, a laptop is mounted on a pedestal next to the driver.  The laptop displays the same map showing the position of the truck relative to the CoStar database.  And what's really neat is that the laptop flips to an image of the nearest CoStar property as you're driving along.  The driver/researcher spends all day in the field double-checking records, taking pictures, and finding new properties.  Each night, changes to the database are uploaded to CoStar's headquarters and likewise the truck's laptop is synchronized with the latest headquarters' database, which reflects changes from other researchers.

We all know that collecting accurate real estate data is an expensive, slow and frustrating process.  But it's clear to me that without these trucks, CoStar would have a much tougher time tracking space available, comparable sales, and tenant data.    Before you blast me with e-mails, yes, I know that CoStar's not always 100% accurate -- even with the trucks.  But my strong impression after talking with the troops is that they sure are trying to get it right. ... For insight into CoStar's business strategy and current operating results, listen to CoStar's latest call to securities analysts by clicking Earnings Conference Call (archived until August 1, 2001).  You'll hear CEO Andy Florance articulate his strategy for growing CoStar and his vision for working with the real estate brokerage industry.

--Peter Pike / ppike@pikenet.com