LoopNet's base of registered users increased 72% in 2001 to 246,023 at year's end. Unique visits to LoopNet.com also increased 72% to 270,494 on a monthly basis. User sessions increased 56% during the year to 705,497 on a monthly basis, and page views increased 39% to 11.36 million on a monthly basis. At year's end, the LoopNet site featured more than $100 billion of properties for sale, up 27% from 2000, and two billion sf of space for lease, up 36% from the previous year.
The real feat of 2001, however, was launching a "Premium Membership" component where paying subscribers got better access and better tools to extract information. The service was launched in august. By year's end, 8,500 subscribers were each paying $39.95 per month. If LoopNet is able double its paid subscriber base by year's end, that component alone will be able to generate more than $8 million in annual gross revenue.
The private company does not release financials, but it also generates revenue as an application service provider currently powering some 1,200 commercial real estate Web sites, and via AppraiserLoop, a brand new Web site where commercial property appraisers can access the Appraisal Institute Commercial Database, which provides appraiser-verified historical transaction data, including sale comparables.
The ability to launch the paid subscription component and AppraiserLoop were a result of LoopNet's third quarter merger with Los Angeles-based PropertyFirst.com. Boyle tells GlobeSt.com that it was PropertyFirst's technology platform that made it possible.
To assist in the final lap to profitability, LoopNet closed on a final round of private equity financing from existing company investors from the venture capital community and commercial real estate industry. Boyle would only describe the round as "less than $10 million." The money is being used to support ongoing operations and the launch of select new products and services, such as a new mapping service for paid subscribers.
"With increased content comes more site traffic and a richer value proposition for our members," says Boyle. "We're partnering with the industry to grow our content and help the commercial real estate market realize the full benefit of a national, open-access, self-generating commercial real estate information service."
Prior to the latest round of financing, both PropertyFirst and LoopNet each had taken in three rounds of financing. Boyle tells GlobeSt.com that, given the current market conditions, there is no plan to take the company public any time soon, but that "clearly the investors at some point will want their return."
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