CoStar acquires Apartments.com for $585 million

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CoStar, a DC-based commercial real estate information provider, today announced its acquisition of online apartment rentals resource Apartments.com for $585 million. Together, the companies are looking to become the top player in online commercial real estate's multifamily housing space, according to a CoStar press release.

Apartments.com, which has been based in Chicago since it was founded as Visual Properties in 1992, reaches 7 million users a month via Apartments.com, ApartmentHomeLiving.com and RentalHomesPlus.com.

“Apartments is one of the most widely recognized online apartment rental brands in the United States and is a leading advertising destination for professional management companies and building owners,” CoStar founder and CEO Andrew Florance said.

Under the leadership of President Dick Burke, Apartments.com currently has about 230 employees and reported revenue of about $86 million in 2013. For renters, the site offers free multimedia searches of its national apartment database that is updated from over 140 newspapers, easy connection to property managers and access to MovingCenter, where renters can arrange truck and furniture rental. For property managers and owners, Apartments.com holds a huge advertising opportunity, an opportunity that CoStar recognizes as “a valuable source of new leads,” Florance said.

As a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures since 1997, Apartments.com has made an unforgettable mark on the Chicago tech scene: whether through its line of impressive alums who are now on to other local ventures (like former President and CEO Bruce Mitchell who now launched Spring Marketplace) or through its groundbreaking technology (which earned it a Webby award in 2005).

“Apartments has transformed the way owners and property managers market their commercial real estate’s apartment buildings, moving them from the classified ads section of Classified Ventures owners’ newspapers to more effective online advertising,” Florance said.