The National Association of Realtors (NAR) this month launched a new web site focused on commercial real estate. The site contains a commercial property listing database that offers access to commercial property listings from all 50 states. It can be found at www.commercialsource.com, which was once the site for the Realtors Commercial Alliance's online convention.
The site, which is geared toward investors and consumers, contains the listing database, an online convention and trade show, industry news and events, research and articles. Basic listings can be uploaded by commercial information exchanges, multiple listing services and practitioners free of charge.
eProperty Data, a commercial information exchange services and solutions provider, will provide technical support for the new site. NAR recently acquired eProperty Data.
According to a news release announcing the launch, state and local real estate associations are interested in uploading their commercial listings onto the site.
The new site is apparently already gaining traction in the marketplace, but it will certainly take a while for this to become a prominent source in the industry. When the announcement of the launch was made, there was only one property listed for the entire state of Pennsylvania. At this point, the main competitors in this space, LoopNet and CoStar, don't have much to worry about. But of course, with the strong NAR name, that could certainly change over time.