LoopNet Offers Bird's Eye View of RecentSales

Easy and Cheap... On February 22, 2006, iTunes sold its one billionth song online (Wikopedia). Earlier this week, LoopNet publicly launched its new service, RecentSales. Is there a connection?

"Yes!" according to Tom Byrne, LoopNet's Chief Marketing Officer. Both iTunes and RecentSales make it incredibly easy and cheap to download data.

For a price between $1.95 and $2.95, you can download an individual property sale or, for a monthly subscription fee of $29.95, you can download 100 sales ($.30 per sale). Currently, RecentSales features 425,000 sold properties located in 650 cities in 220 counties in 19 states. More will be added in the future.

If a sale is transacted by a LoopNet member, sales information will be available when the listing status is changed to "sold." This might be just one, two or three days after the actual close. Data on non-LoopNet sales is obtained from county and state transaction records, presumably within thirty days of closing.

According to Byrne, RecentSales is designed as a helpful tool for brokers to initiate their own comparison of recent sales. The idea is to make data available quickly so brokers can research their personal lists of similar properties.

One of the really cool features of RecentSales is the integration of Microsoft's Virtual Earth mapping and aerial technology. Many properties offer "Bird's Eye" views, which enable you to look at a building from different directions (north, south, east, west). It's a great way to really understand the physical situation of a property. (Note: Bird's Eye views don't yet work with Firefox.)

Spread the Word... This Dispatch is a "Sponsor Profile" recognizing LoopNet as a major supporter to PikeNet. Thank you, LoopNet! If you would like to tell PikeNet subscribers about your service, click here.