The short answer
The difference is less about the data than about who does the work. Property databases such as CoStar (annual report) and Reonomy (Reonomy) hold ownership, sales and loan records, and CoStar’s brochure offers alerts on new sales and leases (CoStar); ZoomInfo holds company and contact data (ZoomInfo). On a self-managed subscription, your team sets up and runs the work: which matches are worth pursuing, who to contact and what to say. How much the software automates, and how much setup help the vendor sells, varies by product and package. A managed research-and-outreach service does the research and the outreach for you, while you set the criteria, approve the targets and messages, and take the interested replies. Check what a contract covers: data, research, outreach, or all three. Buy a database if you have people to run it, or if you need property research on demand. Use a service if you want outreach tied to events in your market without building that team. Either way, an event is a reason to look at a company, not proof that it is buying.
What the databases offer, in their own words
- CoStar offers “subscription-based access to our platform of commercial real estate intelligence”. Its data includes true ownership, tax assessments, sales and lease comparables, mortgage and deed information, tenant names, lease expirations and contact information. CoStar Group says “we generally charge a fixed monthly subscription fee rather than fees based on actual platform usage”, with rates “generally based on the number of sites, number of users, organization size” and other factors (CoStar Group annual report for 2025). Its brochure for service providers says they can stay on top of recent sales and leases “by receiving alerts when new deals are signed” (CoStar).
- Reonomy calls itself “the commercial property data platform for CRE professionals and commercial service providers”. It lists sales history, debt and lien records, refinance activity and owner contacts, says it can “pierce shell LLCs and holding companies”, and its web app starts at $400 a month on an annual subscription (Reonomy), typically priced per user, with bulk data and API access quoted separately (Reonomy pricing). It has been part of Altus Group since November 2021 (Reonomy).
- ZoomInfo combines “verified data on 500M+ contacts and 100M+ companies” with intent data (ZoomInfo). Its “Scoops” are signals on significant business events (ZoomInfo API reference), and its paid packages include AI email writing and “workflows for automated outreach and sales activities” (ZoomInfo pricing).
So the tools now go well beyond lookups: alerts, LLC unmasking, contacts, even drafted emails.
What stays with your team
- Coverage. A search returns the matching records in the vendor’s coverage. Ask each vendor, in writing, which records it covers in your markets (building permits, deeds, loans, completions), how soon after the public record they appear, and how it links an LLC to the company behind it.
- Judgment. A new sale or permit doesn’t say whether the work is already bought. Someone has to check how far the project has got and who already serves it.
- The outreach itself. Someone has to decide who to write to, check what the software drafts and handle the replies.
What a property-event service does
A managed service starts from a public record a project leaves: a building permit, a deed, a loan, a certificate of occupancy. Each says what happened, where and when, and many are published as open data. Chicago and New York both say their permit data is updated daily (Chicago, New York). From the record, the service works back to the company and the person who decides, checks the fit and writes to them about their project. What permits and acquisitions show, and what they leave out, is in permits vs acquisitions.
One example: a 57-story tower in Austin
We found this one in our own permit data in May. On 8 May 2026 the City of Austin issued building permit 2026-049438 BP for the shell of a 57-story mixed-use residential tower at 62 East Avenue: 215 units, a reported job value of $154 million, and Summit Design Build as contractor. The application went in on 20 December 2023 (City of Austin open data, permit 2026-049438 BP). The permit doesn’t name the owner, but it carries the county appraisal ID 0203031037. The appraisal district’s record under that ID, property 190915 at 64 East Avenue, names the owner: 62-64 East Ave Owner LLC (Travis Central Appraisal District, property 190915).
The LLC’s name doesn’t say who is behind it. Texas’s accessibility registration for the same address names Pearlstone Partners as owner, with an estimated cost of $154.8 million (Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, project TABS2024007768). Pearlstone’s own site describes 62 East as a 57-story condominium tower with 215 residences for ownership (Pearlstone Partners) and lists it under 2029 (Pearlstone Partners), while the state filing still shows a completion date of November 2027. The records connect the project to Pearlstone; proving who controls the LLC would take an entity filing or a recorded document.
That is what the records add to an owner list: when the project reached a milestone, how big it is planned to be and which contractor the permit names. It is a reason to look closer, not proof of an open need. Before you pitch, check how far the project has got and who already serves it. How to do the LLC step elsewhere is in how to find the developer behind a property LLC.
Which one fits your firm
- A database fits when you need property and ownership research on demand, such as brokers and appraisers pulling comparables or teams mapping a market, and you have people to run it.
- A service fits when your sales depend on timing and you don’t want to build a research and outreach team. Cost segregation is one example: for a building held for rent or business use, the year it is placed in service is a natural time to ask, since depreciation starts then (IRS Publication 946), though older buildings can still be studied (IRS Cost Segregation Audit Technique Guide). More in cost segregation prospecting from property activity.
- Both fit when you need property research beyond the outreach itself. Ask the service what contact research is included and which data costs extra.
Five questions for any vendor: which records it covers in your markets; how soon after the public record they show up; whether it names the company behind the LLC; who does the outreach; and what the price includes.
How Buildwise does this
Buildwise is a service, not a database. We use technology we’ve built to track building permits, real estate transactions and construction projects, and select the ones that match your services and market. For each one we identify the company behind it, check it against your criteria and find the people who decide. Our team runs the outreach from your accounts, after you approve the messages and a sample of the companies and contacts. This is how Buildwise works. See our services.
