LoopNet is an

online marketplace An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce website where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties. Online marketplaces are the primary type of multichannel ecommerce and can be a wa ...

for

commercial property Commercial property, also called commercial real estate, investment property or income property, is real estate (buildings or land) intended to generate a Profit (economics), profit, either from capital gains or Renting, rental income. Commercial ...

, providing property listings and marketing solutions for property owners. Founded in 1995 by Dennis DeAndre in San Francisco, the company initially focused exclusively on providing an internet platform for commercial property listings but has since expanded to offer a comprehensive suite of digital solutions for the commercial real estate industry. As of 2025, LoopNet is considered the leading commercial real estate digital marketplace, with more than 12 million unique monthly visitors. Today, LoopNet operates as a subsidiary of

CoStar Group CoStar Group, Inc. is an American provider of information, analytics, and marketing services to the commercial property industry in North America and Europe. Founded in 1987 by Andrew C. Florance and based in Arlington, Virginia, the company has ...

, which acquired the company in 2012 for approximately $860 million. The company is currently led by CEO Andrew Florence. The company has multiple subsidiary services, including BizBuySell for business listings, Ten-X, the technology behind the online auctions, CityFeet for urban commercial space, and Showcase for commercial properties. LoopNet also offers LoopLink, a professional property search technology that can be integrated directly into commercial real estate brokers', owners', and Economic Development Corporations' websites, allowing them to manage listings in one centralized location while simultaneously updating their information across CoStar, LoopNet, and their own websites.

History

LoopNet was founded in 1995 by Dennis DeAndre. Working alongside engineer Steve Midgley, the two built LoopNet into the internet's largest commercial real estate listing service. LoopNet underwent three rounds of private venture capital financing in 1997 (Indo Suez), 1998 (Trinity Capital & Partners) and $20 million in 1999 from fourT5 real estate brokers. LoopNet was an early venture in Internet-based user-created content. As early as October 1996 virtually all of its commercial property listings were being entered by its users directly. Over time, LoopNet added the capability to import listings in an automated manner. In 2001, the company merged with PropertyFirst.com. In June 2006, the company became a

public company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of share capital, stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter (finance), over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) co ...

via an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

. At that time, the company had 360,000 commercial properties for sale or lease. LoopNet acquired BizBuySell (2004), CityFeet (2007), REApps (2008), Land & Farm/Lands of America (2008) and Bizquest (2010). In April 2012, CoStar Group acquired LoopNet for approximately $860 million in cash and stock. In 2014, the company settled a

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may occ ...

lawsuit that it brought against Dotloop. In 2020, to address rapid changes occurring in the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

commercial real estate market, the company added significant virtual tour capabilities. In 2022, LoopNet expanded its international presence by launching LoopNet.co.uk, migrating the UK commercial property portal Realla.co.uk into the LoopNet brand. This move established a dedicated platform for the UK market. In 2025, the company further extended its reach into Europe with the launch of LoopNet.es, targeting the Spanish commercial real estate sector.

Business

LoopNet connects tenants and buyers with owners over an open and free network. As of April 2023, LoopNet had more than 12 million unique monthly visitors. LoopNet's business model involves selling memberships to its site to those that lease or sell Commercial Real Estate. Paid or Premium Membership confers additional benefits with a free model existing but only showing those listings to groups with CoStar membership.Best Stock for 2008: LoopNet
Motley Fool, December 31, 2007

Legal issues

In '' CoStar Group, Inc. v. LoopNet, Inc.'' (2006), in which Loopnet prevailed, it was determined that Loopnet, as an operator of a

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

, was no different from Netcom, then an

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, and was not responsible for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

s by its users. This ruling established

precedent Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

for copyright liability protection for many websites. It followed the '' Religious Technology Center v. Netcom'' case (better known as Scientology vs. the Internet). LoopNet demonstrated that it policed any user violations after the fact. The court did not require the company to stop future violations before they occur. Such a ruling could have effectively shut down LoopNet's website as well as those of many

application service provider An application service provider (ASP) is a business providing application software generally through the. ASPs that specialize in a particular application (such as a medical billing program) may be referred to as providing software as a service. ...

s. CoStar unsuccessfully argued that LoopNet was an active party to the violations and thereby guilty of

References

External links

* {{Online real estate databases 2006 initial public offerings 2012 mergers and acquisitions Companies based in San Francisco Online real estate databases Real estate companies established in 1995 Real estate services companies of the United States