Online Commercial Real Estate Listing Service Unveiled in Southwest Florida

In Southwest Florida and beyond, commercial real estate marketing has traditionally been governed by the principals of the “Four Ps”:

• Put up a sign.
• Place an ad.
• Post on the MLS.
• Pray.

Until recently. Now you can add an “I” to that list, as in Internet. A year of effort by the Commercial Investment Division of the Sarasota Association of Realtors later, the wonders of Al Gore’s brainchild now showcase properties from Ruskin to Punta Gorda.

SuncoastCIX.com marks the first time in Southwest Florida that nformation on commercial properties has been uniformly collected and distributed from various real estate companies. Modeled after the Multiple Listing Service that has long been a staple of residential Florida real estate, commercial brokers believe SuncoastCIX.com will add a new dimension.

“This will expand and enhance our ability to market property, pure and simple,” said Steve Ross, an agent with Hembree & Associates Inc.

“The reason for the multiple list service is residential real estate. For those of us that practice commercial real estate, information exchange has always been done by a bit of a band-aid approach. Now, all of a sudden, we have something better than MLS,” said Carl Wise, owner of Preferred Commercial, Inc.

SuncoastCIX.com, using a software package developed by Catalyst Inc., lets members can view addresses, sizes, the prices or rental rates — even one or more pictures of the commercial property. Additionally, members can see broker or agent biographies, link to other websites, find a directory of real estate services — even post want ads.

Agents like Ross maintain that the creation of SuncoastCIX.com represents a watershed moment in the evolution of the area. Because, while the Southwest Florida housing market has seen epic growth this decade up until this year, the region was no commercial real estate haven until recently.

“Our market is now on the map; we’ve grown up. And, with that, we’ve reached a point where we needed to be more professional in marketing our area. This provides the Florida real estate professional a much better venue than what we’ve had in the past. It’s a very versatile program that allows for narrow searches, and it allows us to market ourselves as individuals, too,” Ross said.

Spearheaded by a group led by Sarasota Commercial Management Vice President Diane Lawson, Wise, Ross and Osprey Real Estate Services’ Brian Kennelly, SuncoastCIX.com arose from an association decision to change MLS vendors. Wise said the commercial division paid the $7,500 cost to develop the site with member dues, which amount to about $400 a year.

SuncoastCIX.com becomes the eighth commercially-oriented multiple listing service in Florida. Information on the Tampa-St. Petersburg market, by comparison, has been compiled in a Catalyst system by the Florida Gulf Coast Area Realtors association. Nationwide, there are 40 such commercial information exchanges.

By 2009, commercial division members expect SuncoastCIX.com will contain information on thousands of properties in the four-county area. Eventually, many believe the entire state will be connected electronically, allowing members to glean information on properties from North Florida to Miami.

Not that there aren’t bugs to work out. In its first week, SuncoastCIX.com had yet to post listings of officers, many properties lacked accompanying photographs, biographies were spotty and the “success stories” portion of the site was bare.

Like the residential market, which has slowed drastically this year as Florida home mortgage rates have risen and a statewide insurance quagmire hasn’t helped matters, thus far it’s been a down year for commercial real estate in the region. Hopefully, the new packaging of info will help spur sales in the remainder of 2006.