CoStar’s Love-Hate Relationship With the Commercial Real Estate Industry

CoStar Group flaunts corporate social responsibility, dismisses employee criticism

The commercial real estate industry has long had a love-hate relationship with CoStar and vice-versa. Perceived as a necessary research tool for many in the business, the high price is usually what irks people the most. CoStar can run users thousands of dollars per month with variable fees based on service and activity level. But, the cost of the subscription is not the only reason the company has raised the ire of so many in the industry. The company’s property database is updated by a team of researchers who call by telephone to get building info and drive a fleet of vehicles around cities taking pictures of buildings. Some brokers don’t like giving CoStar their data, or are generally distrusting of the validity of the information on the site. Owners often prefer to use their own images to represent their properties in the database.

Recently the most vocal critics of the company are not its customers but former employees. CoStar has made headlines for a so-called toxic corporate culture. Employees complain about the monitoring of remote workers, high turnover, and the CEO’s erratic behavior. It is amid this backdrop of controversy that CoStar just released a report promoting its social responsibility. In it, the company touts environmentally friendly measures like electric fleet vehicles, socially responsible activities like diversity and inclusion, and workplace training and wellness. With thousands of employees, the report claims that the company fosters “a collaborative and healthy work environment.

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