LoopNet: The Middleman's Tool... Remember the VC mantra ten years ago, "The Internet changes everything"? At the time, fear and loathing stalked corporate America as traditional sellers ran scared of the new online breed (eToys, Furniture.com, Webvan).

Naturally, commercial real estate shared these sentiments. So when our brokerage office in San Francisco received a paper letter from Dennis DeAndre the fall of 1995 urging us to use his new Internet listing service, LoopNet, the reaction ranged from disinterest to outright hostility. "Why would I want my listings to be available to the public? Hello-o-o."

Of course, the Internet really didn't "change everything," and the core of the real estate transaction business remains the strong personal relationships among its players -- brokers, owners, tenants. In fact, you might argue that the Internet is the best tool that brokers could have imagined.

According to LoopNet's latest press release, over 21,000 Premium Members (mostly brokers) actually pay LoopNet to display their listings to the public. LoopNet's listings surpass 230,000, including $135 billion of properties for sale and 2.3 billion square feet for lease, with over 450,000 registered members.

Tom Byrne writes that each month more than 2 million searches are conducted at LoopNet with more than 2.5 million detailed properties viewed and that page views exceed 40 million. Alexa rates LoopNet as the most popular commercial real estate web site.

Looking ahead ten years, what should we expect? Will the Internet change anything?

Spread the Word... Many thanks to Steve Orser at LASERtech® for sponsoring this week's Dispatch. LASERtech® specializes in providing accurate, as-built plans and BOMA Lease Area analyses nationwide. If you would like to spread the word, please send e-mail or call 415-485-6700.

--Peter Pike