CoStar Group reviews

Sudden deadly micromanagement. Grey area of quantity and quality, big brother atmosphere, destructively competitive. The company just acquired its biggest competitor, Loopnet, and with it came back-breaking overtime, and tasks that drain the energy out of you. For those who are hired in the next few months, this is not Research, it's fishing round the country for new listings and getting yelled at by people who have no use for Costar marketing. I feel in a lot of ways that I was duped into my position as I did not feel that a lot of the work I did could be described as research. It really is glorified telemarketing that requires good communication skills with brokers and owners of CRE. However, that was an area that I improved on as I was not initially comfortable with communication via telephone. Finally a company that prides itself on the quality of its idea should take a real look at its employees. People at costar love to cut corners in ways to improve their metrics, just like bankers cut corners to increase their bonuses, and so with it, I have seen plenty examples of incorrect or miscellaneous data. And with the looney acquisition, the company's sudden strive for new listings will also take an effect on data as the workers are being treated like slaves and so do not care about the data they enter.

HEAVY performance-metric environment... Calls are recorded, monitored, and evaluated based on your ability to capture real estate information that many contacts are not willing to provide. At times, quantity overrules quality. The metrics are a double-edged sword, promoting productivity while also rushing and fear-mongering the research process. This leads to a painfully low employee morale and drains much enjoyment out of the research process. Success and growth are greatly determined by your ability to collect info of the activity in your research market (leases, sales, new properties available). If you're researching a stagnant market with less activity or one where CoStar Group has not yet established substantial clientele, your numbers will suffer. Employee turnover rate has remained high, both from dissatisfied employees like myself or those unable to meet the demanding standards. As a former employee, my reasons for leaving were personal. I don't function at my best in an office environment, especially one so numbers driven. Make no mistake, this is a truly entry-level position. The pay is substantial as are the benefits for a reason... The job is not enjoyable. More often than not, the work is stressful, demanding, and soul-sucking. It's not for everyone. If nothing else, it's an ideal place to develop office experience.