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Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects
The largest platform for commercial real estate listings is launching a service that combines virtual building tours with an online meeting capability for up to 20 participants simultaneously.
CoStar said its new “CoTour” feature will enable landlords, tenants and brokers to view high-definition video tours and 3D virtual tours on its LoopNet online marketplace.
“If Fortune 500 executives are touring potential new office space in a high-rise tower right now, I believe that it’s much more likely they’re in their PJ’s at home doing it on LoopNet rather than touring in person,” CoStar CEO Andrew Florance said in a conference call to discuss the company’s first-quarter earnings. “It’s much safer that way.”
The platform allows up to 20 registered LoopNet users to simultaneously view 3D tours, HD video tours, aerial photos and and architectural drawings in a secure online meeting room.
Visits to LoopNet shot up 61 percent to 6.4 million in April, CoStar said, as traditional building tours gave way to online visits.
But the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – ranging from expanded work-from-home policies to a broader economic downturn – are expected to have a severe impact on property sectors including retail and office space.
Commercial leasing dropped to half of typical levels in recent weeks and is expected to start to recover in June or July, Florance said. Office occupancy is projected to decline 100 to 250 million square feet, compared with 57 million square feet during the Great Recession, and asking rent declines of 10 to 20 percent.
The Washington, D.C.-based commercial real estate data provider said its economists forecast that nearly 1 million commercial leases worth more than $500 billion will be signed in the next 12 months, after a sharp downturn at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The physical leasing process of prospective tenants driving by properties, being signs and touring through the buildings, as in most cases, ground to a halt. Just when owners desperately need to promote their buildings and tour tenants to fill growing vacancies, the physical inspection of properties are becoming impractical,” Florance said.
During the first quarter ending March 31, CoStar reported revenues of $392 million, up 19 percent from the same period in 2019, and net income of $73 million. It revised its second-quarter guidance with projected revenues of $387 million to $392 million, up 13 percent over 2019, and EBITDA of $110-115 million, up 2 percent.
