LoopNet

LoopNet is an online marketplace for commercial property, 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, which acquired the company in 2012 for approximately $860 million. The company is currently led by CEO Andrew Florence.

LoopNet, Inc.

Company type	Subsidiary
Traded as	Nasdaq: LOOP (2006-2012)
Industry	Technology
Founded	1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Founder	Dennis DeAndre
Headquarters	1331 L St NW, Washington, DC , United States
Key people	Andrew Florence (CEO)
Products	Listing plans Media packages Search tools
Number of employees	100
Parent	CoStar Group
Website	www.loopnet.com

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)^[1] and $20 million in 1999 from fourT5 real estate brokers.^[2]

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. ^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, the company merged with PropertyFirst.com.^[3]

In June 2006, the company became a public company via an initial public offering.^[4] At that time, the company had 360,000 commercial properties for sale or lease.^[5]

LoopNet acquired BizBuySell (2004),^[6] CityFeet (2007),^[7] REApps (2008),^[8] Land & Farm/Lands of America (2008) and Bizquest (2010).^[9]

In April 2012, CoStar Group acquired LoopNet for approximately $860 million in cash and stock.^[10]

In 2014, the company settled a trademark infringement lawsuit that it brought against Dotloop.^[11]

In 2020, to address rapid changes occurring in the COVID-19 commercial real estate market, the company added significant virtual tour capabilities.^[12]

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.^[13] As of April 2023, LoopNet had more than 12 million unique monthly visitors.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[14]

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, was no different from Netcom, then an internet service provider, and was not responsible for copyright infringements by its users. This ruling established precedent 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 providers. CoStar unsuccessfully argued that LoopNet was an active party to the violations and thereby guilty of copyright infringement.