CoStar Group Named One of the World's Most Innovat

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoStar Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSGP ), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces, has been named to Forbes' World's Most Innovative Growth Companies list for 2014. CoStar placed 27 ^th in the distinguished ranking of the top 100 companies worldwide and in the top 10 among companies in the IT Software and Services category.

Forbes produces the list annually using a proprietary formula in collaboration with Credit Suisse to measure what it calls an "innovation premium." According to the authors of the list, the innovation premium is the bonus given by equity investors to companies they expect will continue to generate profitable new growth driven by future innovation through investments in new products, services and markets. To qualify for consideration, companies must have seven years of public financial data and a market capitalization under $10 billion.

"We are pleased to be recognized by Forbes as one of the most innovative growth companies in the world," said Andrew C. Florance, CoStar Group's Founder and CEO. "Cohesive innovation has been a hallmark of CoStar's success, and we remain focused on delivering information and tools that are critical to our customers' success."

"Most innovation rankings are popularity contests based on past performance or editorial whims," the Forbes authors wrote. "We set out to create something very different with the World's Most Innovative Companies list, using the wisdom of the crowd. Our method relies on investors' ability to identify firms they expect to be innovative now and in the future."

Founded in 1987, CoStar has a long track record of bringing innovation to the commercial real estate industry. CoStar was one of the first companies to combine the operational efficiencies of a computer-based information system with rigorous, independent research to produce more complete, standardized and higher quality commercial property information. In 2011, CoStar transformed the way commercial real estate professionals accessed information when away from their office with CoStar Go®, a revolutionary mobile app for the iPad. In 2013, CoStar released advanced analytic tools in CoStar Suite ^TM and CoStar Go®, expanded its footprint in the multifamily sector and released powerful lease analysis and comparison tools.

With the acquisition of LoopNet in 2012 and Apartments.com in 2014, CoStar Group has become a leading operator of online marketplaces for commercial real estate, apartment rentals, businesses for sales and rural land. Earlier this year, CoStar raised $529 million in net proceeds in an equity offering to, among other things, invest in the continued growth of the Company and to fund potential strategic acquisitions it determines to pursue.

About CoStar Group, Inc.

CoStar Group (Nasdaq: CSGP ) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. Founded in 1987, CoStar conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. Our suite of online services enables clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial property values, market conditions and current availabilities. Through LoopNet, the Company operates the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online with more than 8.7 million registered members. Apartments.com is a premier online apartment resource for renters that matches apartment seekers with great apartment homes and provides property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. CoStar operates websites with over 16 million unique monthly visitors in aggregate during second quarter of 2014. Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe with a staff of over 2,300 worldwide, including the industry's largest professional research organization. For more information, visit www.costargroup.com .

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about CoStar's financial expectations, the company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements including words such as "hope," "anticipate," "may," "believe," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue" and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of management of CoStar and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements can be found in CoStar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, each of which is filed with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" section of those filings, and the company's other filings with the SEC available at the SEC's website ( www.sec.gov ). CoStar assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media: Mark Klionsky, Senior VP, Marketing (202) 623-5252 Investors: Richard Simonelli Senior Director Investor Relations (202) 346-6394