By Patsy Fretwell
Houston commercial properties are currently making their way into Xceligent’s national platform.
Commercial Gateway, the commercial division of the Houston Association of Realtors, will be the Houston stop for Xceligent users looking for commercial real estate. The data conversion should be complete in December, with Xceligent’s full CDX product available in the spring of 2015. Xceligent is a leading provider of verified commercial real estate information in more than 30 markets across the United States and currently. Commercial Gateway will provide the missing link for properties in Texas’ largest city, joining other major markets in Texas.
Although now part of the Xceligent platform, Commercial Gateway will continue to offer and operate a commercial information exchange (CIE) service focused on the greater Houston marketplace.
In addition to the CommGate CIE, Xceligent will offer its fully researched CDX system that includes access to other national markets as well as more advanced market metrics and reporting tools. Xceligent plans to begin its Houston-area research efforts in January. This two-level system will provide Houston’s commercial brokers with choices to select which information service best meets their needs.
The new Commercial Gateway/Xceligent platform means added value for Commercial Gateway’s 1,500 members:
- Member listings already show up on CommercialSearch.com, a public, national, on-line, marketing platform featuring commercial listings. Endorsed by NAR and Realtor.com, CommGate’s member listings from 500 firms are automatically added to CommercialSearch.com with flyers, photos and profiles intact.
- Xceligent offers more researched properties and tenant information. Xceligent plans to greatly broaden the scope of research to include more retail properties, smaller office and industrial properties as well as single-tenant owner-occupied buildings and for-sale properties in general. Tenant information will also be collected and verified.
- Xceligent will also cover more geography by including access to properties listed for sale and lease in other major Texas markets that it services like Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Corpus Christi.
- Many services currently offered by CommGate, including an email broadcast system, will continue to be a part of a member’s service package
- An integrative iPad app available to all members allows users to:
- Obtain property details, including all property sale and lease listings, tenant rosters, and sale/lease comparables.
- Access the photo gallery and report generator with options to print, save and email the photos and reports.
- Quickly see all properties on the map matching your search criteria.
- Draw a radius ring or polygon with your finger to narrow your search results to the exact area of interest.
- Use GPS to find available properties near your location.
Training
Training sessions for the new platform are currently being scheduled for members at central locations in the Houston area and at the offices of larger firms. Commercial Gateway and Xceligent will offer training before and after the launch of the new system. Classes have been scheduled, both morning and afternoon, at HAR’s Central Office on December 11, 12, 17 and 19 and are open to all. Other trainings will be available in different locations across the city and in suburban markets. Please check notices on www.commgate.com for updates.
Research Oversight Boards
Another addition to Houston as part of the Xceligent network will be the sponsoring of specific oversight boards, whose members are comprised of active office and industrial leasing brokers and researchers. Board members meet quarterly to review and verify significant transactions along with overall leasing activity and absorption within a building each quarter. With the cooperation of the commercial real estate community, Commercial Gateway will be sponsoring four research oversight boards in the spring.
Other than tracking major deals in Houston, benefits to participants include receiving customized reports citing company and square footage leased and absorbed along with any other exclusive information collected per quarter. If interested in joining a board, please let us know.
