Content
1. New and Notable
2. Government Data-II
3. Commentary
4. Web Success
5. Site of the Week
6. Web Quote
7. Subscribing/Canceling

1. New and Notable... CB Commercial recently launched a pilot listing program with a powerful search engine and attractive data screens. Currently the database has 124 sale and lease listings from four offices in Southern California. Go to CB's home page and click "Properties" on the image map or the "Contents" hyperlink at the bottom of the page, then "CBC Available Properties." Click "Featured Listing" for a good listing example. You are presented with a very attractive flier-like page of details, including the broker's e-mail address. Additional information is represented by icons down the frame on the left side, e.g., site plan, map, brochure, aerial photo.

There is no question that this quality information is vastly superior to the typical hard copy flier regularly sent to brokers. And it's less expensive. If CB were to launch this service nationwide and add thousands of listings, this would have dramatic implications. At a minimum, many landlords would begin to demand that other brokers provide an equivalent quality Internet presence for their properties.

2. Government Data--II... The Harris County Appraisal District (Houston, Texas) went online in October with a free, searchable database. You can look up an owner's name and address and assessed valuation. This is only the second county assessor's office (after Hillsborough County, Florida) which provides free web access to the public. At least the second that I am aware of.

The Quick Tax Supersite is a private service which provides free access to Tarrant County (Dallas/Fort Worth) Tax Rolls. What makes this service particularly interesting is the use of the SoftSource plug-in for Netscape, DXF/SVF, which enables viewers to zoom in to a specific parcel map similar to a traditional map program. For example, you can zoom down to a level where you can read the plot's dimensions. This is far better than the normal scanned images of parcel maps frequently seen on the web.

3. Commentary... As I wandered around the NAR (National Association of Realtors) conference last week, I thought that commercial firms would do well to spend R&D money following the dramatic technological changes occurring on the residential side of the business. For example, according to Pacific Union's Bill Jansen, his firm derives 20% of its San Francisco residential revenues from the 25% of its agents working entirely outside their offices and using the Internet for access.

Another example, the Preference America Mortgage Network, a Walnut Creek, California-based mortgage broker, provides a borrower real time access to a choice of lenders through video conferencing. From a monitor in your broker's office, you pick one of four lenders displayed and are instantly connected to a real person in a service center on video. Together the borrower and lender can fill out a mortgage application online. Can the commercial industry be far behind?

4. Web Success... Powered by a growing Internet presence, Metro CIB (Commercial Investment Brokers) in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex provides its 1,000 members with an active Haves and Wants forum and links to local resources--all geared to producing revenue for its members.

5. Site of the Week... Founded on January 1, 1900, the Whittier Partners Group in Boston approaches the century mark on the technological edge. If you have a favorite site, please send me e-mail.

6. Internet Quote... "More and more, information about goods and services will migrate to the network. Once that happens, then people who have been profiting as middlemen passing information along--well, their world becomes different." Bill Gates, ASAP, December 2, 1996.

7. Subscribing/Canceling... If you do not want to receive this Dispatch, please reply with "cancel" in the Message field to remove your name. Please include your name and company. If you know a person who would like to be added to this list, please send me an e-mail with the word "subscribe."

--Peter Pike /