By RAGAN WILLIS
Journal Staff Reporter

High tech has hit the real estate industry in a big way this year: brokers and tenants can now go on-line to find the latest word on space available and leasing information via several new dot coms launched by Internet savvy real estate experts.

Brokers, especially those from boutique firms that don’t staff in-house research teams, say sites such as Commercial Space Online’s officespace.com, CoStar and Commercial Brokers Association (CBA) are helping move the industry at double-speed.

"We can now put together a package of information for clients in about one-tenth the time it took in the old days," said Stuart Williams of Pacific Real Estate Partners in Bellevue.

For instance, Seattle-based officespace.com offers listings of buildings, spaces and subleases, listings of new and proposed projects and a property search engine. Licensed realtors can become members for $24.95 to $79.95 a month, depending on the level of service. Members have access to more detailed information, including "suite by suite" listings of all spaces matching search criteria and information on historic properties. Officespace.com only handles properties in Seattle, Portland and Denver.

Williams says the sites help his firm provide better, more accurate information. Brokers used to hunt down available space sporadically; now they can find out what’s new every day, he said.

Williams emphasized, however, that the sites are just tools to help the industry keep up with demand for space. The notion that the Internet will make or break a real estate firm is false, he added.

"It’s a great service. With officespace.com, CoStar and the CBA, you have three sites with excellent information,’’ he said. "But firms that rely just on that information will be hurt."

Although Williams believes the new "productivity tools" - his term for the Web sites - will be helpful, companies still need to spend time educating staff, and creating new, better ways to serve clients. For that reason, Williams says he doesn’t think the sites are really crucial to competing with other realtors.

Whether online real estate information is just one of many tools, or will revolutionize the industry, its presence is growing. Another Seattle online realty service called Cubitz.com is getting ready to launch, headed up by Ryan Allison, who has experience in commercial real estate; and Elie Finegold, who sold his small Web development company in 1998. Allison, the company’s chief executive officer, said Cubitz.com will be ready to go in the second quarter this year. He said the details of how the site will serve tenants, brokers and property owners will be kept secret until then.

"We’re holding our cards close at this point," Allison said. "A lot of people are putting up sites right now, but we’re taking the time to build the ultimate place that will have the ultimate value to all parties. It’s a very large animal."

Cubitz.com will launch in more than 20 markets nationwide. Allison and Finegold are busy setting up offices across the U.S. , which Allison says will be staffed by professionals from both the real estate and high-tech industries.

Allison was also cryptic about the firm’s mission.

"There’s a lot of opportunities missed right now, and that’s what our value proposition focuses on," he said. "It will be very clear why Cubitz.com decided to enter the market once we’re there."

What Cubitz.com is not in business to do is to reduce human contact in real estate. While e-commerce is often criticized for being anti-social, Allison says Cubitz.com will be backed with "real people" readily available. Phone numbers, office addresses and contact names will be on the site- which Allison promised will be user friendly for both experienced users and those less comfortable with doing business online.

While the specifics about Cubitz are vague, the firm is growing solid. Its Seattle office staffs 17 employees, and Cubitz.com recently signed a lease to take space on Second Avenue and Stewart Street in downtown Seattle. One of its biggest coups was naming John Keister, cofounder and president of Go2Net, to its board of directors. Keister’s decision to join is evidence that the idea of offering real estate services on line will become more common.

Allison doesn’t see the other online sites as a threat and says he’s confident a skilled staff, plus many strong investors, whom he declined to name but said they were "high-profile," will give Cubitz.com a good lead.

"We have a business development group that is talking to University of Washington, the Commercial Brokers Association and other firms already active in the marketplace," he said. "We’re learning a lot, and defining the direction we want to go, based on what’s already out there."