One part of the company's two-pronged strategy is premised on providing brokers something most other listing services do not, data on the people checking out their sites, such that the broker can send the interested party a more direct solicitation subsequent to their viewing the listing. The other prong is selling information on the brokers and their clients to vendors, allowing them to query the broker and/or the space user about services they may need to finish, outfit and operate their space.
With regard to the broker side of things, company executive and investor Steve Condrey, father of founder/CEO Jon Condrey, tells GlobeSt.com that when someone checks out a broker's listing, he or she will receive a blind email address that can be used to solicit the interested party directly. For example, the broker might want to inform the seemingly interested party about additional incentives that weren't included in the listing. "They will get the DNA of the agent or user that clicked on their listing, allowing them to further pitch their listing," Condrey says.
For the vendor, the system will provide information on tenants or buyers who plan to relocate and have registered for a free search on the buildingsearch.com site. "The vendor will get the actual name and address of the real estate broker but the user-slash-tenant will be blind," Condrey says. "They can pitch what they have and it's up to the user if he or she wants to respond."
Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc., the largest Colliers international franchise recently expanded its relationship with Buildingsearch.com, paying for premium listings for all its properties in the Greater Los Angeles Basin, which total approximately 400. Previously CMN cut a deal for premium listings for all of its properties in the Northern California cities of Sacramento and Roseville. Cornish & Carey Commercial also pays for premium listings for all its properties, and additional deals are expected to be closed soon, Condrey says.
While the negotiated deal values are not being released, list prices are a minimum of $45 per month for individual brokers and as little as $25 per month per agent for larger brokerage firms. Vendors will be charged a monthly rate starting at $500 per month for coverage of five counties, $1,500 per month for complete coverage in California. To use the free search system, users must provide basic information about themselves including an email address, but do not have to list a phone number or provide any credit card information.
Owned and operated by current and former commercial real estate brokers, BuildingSearch.com has crested 7,000 registered users and 34,000 listings since going live with its new platforms last fall. Some 900 agents are paying for premium listings. The total number of premium listings now stands at 4,600, with the Cornish & Carey deal responsible for about half of that total and the CMN deal responsible for another third.
Company founder Jon Condrey has spent the past 12 years in the commercial real estate industry with Colliers and Cornish & Carey. Prior to that, he co-founded hooked.net (acquired by Amerion), an early online community and pioneer in providing graphical user interfaces over the Internet. He also has held senior management positions with technology companies, responsible for sales and marketing channels for database application vendors, and with computer systems integration companies.
Other investors and advisors include the elder Condrey, who spent 30 years with Colliers International in the Silicon Valley; Michael Burke, SVP of the San Jose corporate office of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls; Mark Denham, owner and operator of 24/7 Workspace Inc., a California based global provider of office furniture systems; Zack Haller, director of acquisitions and dispositions for Trumark Commercial; Chris Kapilla, a software consultant experienced in developing database-driven applications for both the desktop and the web; Edward P. Kinsey, a venture capitalist who was previously EVP and CFO of Ariba, Inc., an enterprise software company that provides online commerce solutions; John McMahon, an SVP with Colliers International; Jay Phillips, an SVP with C&C specializing in tenant representation; Jeff Teddleton, a director with Juniper Networks; and Jonathon McNulty, a veteran of social networking infrastructure and online management systems who founded bluLIME.com and its upcoming joint venture network Prosido.com.
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