John Breault is the vice president of the State-Wide Multiple Listing Service, MLS Member Services and the East Coast Commercial Property Network. He has been in the real estate industry for 32 years, originally starting in Springfield, Mass. He spoke to the Providence Business News this week about the newly expanded commercial property network.
PBN: What is the East Coast Commercial Property Network?
BREAULT: It’s called in the business a commercial exchange. It’s a service built around the database of commercial property. And it’s a database that’s built by the users of that service, in this case licensed real estate brokers and sales people. They enter their commercial information into the database and then share it with other commercial properties.
PBN: When you say commercial, what properties?
BREAULT: Anything that is zoned commercial, so multifamily that is five units-plus, industrial buildings, anything that is of commercial ilk.
PBN: Who is participating?
BREAULT: [About 1,200 members from Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts]. Ninety percent are based in Rhode Island because it started off as a Rhode Island initiative. It’s growing outside the borders. So, we have some from Massachusetts and some from Connecticut.
PBN: What data is available?
BREAULT: Let’s say a broker has a buyer who is interested in finding office space. Or a space in a shopping center, even vacant, commercially zoned land. They could go in and find that information. Even the public can search. Typically, it is what’s available, what space is available. There is also historical information that can be used. What went off the market, or was sold, so brokers can use that to create pricing for what they have coming on to the market.
PBN: How would the public access this?
BREAULT: It’s like RI Living. They would go to the address, www.EastCoastCPN.com, and do a basic search. It will put them in touch with the broker. They can put in their needs and wants. [Such as], I need a space that will accommodate a hair salon, and it will go out to the brokers.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com.
