Real ESTATE.

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Author: Fitch, Stephane

If ever there were an industry that needed the Internet, it's the notoriously old-fashioned commercial real estate business. A slew of Internet sites promise they'll save some of the time and paperwork that goes with complex real estate deals. Then there are the dozens of property listing sites not to mention those devoted to financing, title search and market research. But most of the online marketplaces won't help you vault past brokers, consultants and other middlemen. They simply maintain the current order and cut down on paperwork. In fact, much of what is online is merely brochureware for commercial realtors and financiers. Stay tuned; many big property owners will soon set up or link to their own procurement exchanges and other marketplaces. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, for example, said in May that it will begin moving its $3 billion a year in purchasing onto Zoho's Web site.

• www.capitalthinking.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Heather Shively

MODEL: Marketplace

DESCRIPTION: Here's a Web site that serves as online storefront for 23 commercial real estate lenders, including big names like JP Morgan and CIBC World Markets. But the Web site does more than just match lenders and borrowers. There are tools here that let you and your lender, and any intermediaries, see documents about the building, the loan and even things like rent rolls or engineering drawings.

CLIENTS: JP Morgan, First Union.

BUZZ: CapitalThinking only recently closed its first loan, but it's got another 53 deals in various stages of closing. Together these loans are worth $500 million, and they range in size from $1 million to $56 million.

• www.comro.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Bob C. Spoerri

MODEL: Marketplace

DESCRIPTION: When, say, the property manager of 2 N. LaSalle St. in Chicago has an empty floor to fill, what does he usually do? Send out flyers, of course. It's expensive, and it's not necessary anymore thanks to Comro.com. The very navigable Web site lets building owners advertise openings and prospective tenants can find out what's available. Comro's got 90% of the better-quality Chicago space listed, and now it's trying to sign up property managers in 54 other cities.

CLIENTS: Trizec-Hahn, Jones Lang LaSalle.

BUZZ: Comro is going national, and the Web site scored a coup when it hired Chief Executive Spoerri in April. Spoerri spent 23 years at Chicago property firm LaSalle Partners. So far the site has 500 million square feet of office and industrial posted, but Spoerri wants to get to 3 billion quickly.

• www.costargroup.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Andrew Florance

MODEL: Marketplace

DESCRIPTION: CoStar is known for the expensive data and analysis it sells to real estate professionals. Its database touches 18 billion square feet of commercial property in the U.S. Now CoStar has launched a site to help property buyers shop for deals. Because it's established as a research tool for brokers and owners, CoStar ought to have an edge over fledgling property marketplaces.

CLIENTS: Cushman & Wakefield, Insignia Financial.

BUZZ: CoStar's Andy Florance says he has created a separate unit, called Electronic Media, that will allow building owners to advertise their vacancies to prospective tenants. Since CoStar already has close contacts with many landlords, it could be a fearsome competitor to Comro.com.

• www.equitycity.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: John Blumberg (Chairman)

MODEL: Marketplace

DESCRIPTION: This online catalog lets real estate dealmakers advertise their projects. Say a developer wants to build a small hotel in Dayton, Ohio and needs $10 million. He can put a detailed prospectus on this site for pension funds or other investors to view. In early June $300 million in equity was being sought through this site.

CLIENTS: Transwestern, Lincoln Property.

BUZZ: Equity City's clients' complaints have prompted the site to allow subscribers to set up customized pages that would show them only the deals that fit their criteria.

• www.realtyiq.com

CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Bruce Weissberg

MODEL: Marketplace

DESCRIPTION: Here's a property data and research service for real estate brokers who specialize in leasing or selling office buildings. You can find out how many vacancies there are in a particular neighborhood or even a single building in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. The data's the real thing-the company used to belong to brokerage giant Cushman & Wakefield. Its $50 monthly subscription fee is a tenth of CoStar's.

CLIENTS: Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis.

BUZZ: A new round of fundraising for RealtyIQ will begin at the end of July. Meanwhile, the Web site is adding cities to its coverage: Atlanta, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Portland, Ore.

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By Stephane Fitch