International real estate data and advertising business CoStar Group plans to hire up to 60 real estate journalists to expand its property news offerings.
The Washington Business Journal (subscriber content) reported the increase, noting CoStar hired its first journalist 28 years ago. CoStar is a global provider of real estate information and analytics. The company also owns a number of property verticals including Apartments.com and LoopNet, among others.
According to the article, CoStar hopes to strengthen the news arm of its business in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. CEO Andy Florance (LinkedIn profile) said the company is looking for experienced reporters, preferably from existing news organizations. It’s already hired former Washington Post local business editor Dan Beyers (LinkedIn profile) as executive editor.
Florance declined to say how much the business will be investing in the new appointments. The plan is to hire the 60 reporters over the course of the next two years. The company currently employs 20 journalists.
CoStar, traded as CSGP on Nasdaq, alluded to the decision in its latest annual report, saying it planned on “adding news talent, upgrading technology, and making our service more relevant for subscribers, by delivering specific news based on their individual preferences.”
The plans come at a time of growth for the company. CoStar has had a fantastic year, financially, raking in $965 million in revenues in FY17 — 15 percent better than the previous year. It also commenced a public offering of $750 million U.S. of its common stock in September.