LoopNet Jumps 25% on First Trading Day

Online RE Services Rocket... Yesterday, June 7, 2006, LoopNet (LOOP) conducted its initial public offering, pricing its shares at $12, and closed on its first trading day at $15, a rise of 25%.

And yesterday CoStar (CSGP) closed at $61.21, a gain of 47.7% over the past year, which means that CoStar now boasts a market capitalization of $1.15 billion.

Wow. Have online real estate services finally achieved critical mass in the eyes of investors? How fast can LoopNet and CoStar grow? What other real estate information services might join them in the public marketplace?

And will their success attract "large Internet portals, like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and craigslist, to enter the market"? (Renaissance Capital, Featured IPO, June 5, 2006)

These are some of the questions that we will discuss at Realcomm's panel, "Trends in Electronic Market Systems," on Tuesday, June 27, at 11 a.m. in Dallas. I'm the moderator, and I guarantee a lively session.

Our panelists are Frank Simuro, Sr. Vice President Information Systems at CoStar, Stephen Shanahan, Managing Director at Real Capital Markets, Doug Curry, CEO at Xceligent, and Richard Maxson, Sr. Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Catylist.

LoopNet is still in their SEC-mandated "quiet period," so they cannot speak publicly. But we can! Be there. Sign up below.

Realcomm Discount... Save $70 off Realcomm's General Registration fee of $695. Register with the PikeNet code. Here's how: Go to Realcomm, click the Conference tab and then the "Register Now" button. Click the "Promo" button and enter RC06PIKE1 (that's "zero six"). Questions? Call Janice Young at 760-736-2627. Thanks!

-- Peter Pike