Andrew Florance, CEO of CoStar Group
Andrew Florance CEO of CoStar Group, leads one of the most influential companies in modern real estate. Under his leadership, CoStar Group has redefined how professionals discover properties, access analytics, and make informed decisions. The company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia offers a suite of powerful tools and platforms, including CoStar, LoopNet, Apartments.com, Homes.com, STR, Ten-X, Land.com, BizBuySell, and Matterport. With over 6,500 employees globally, CoStar Group serves millions of clients and attracts more than 134 million unique visitors a month.
Early Life and Education
Before launching a tech real estate empire, Andrew Florance built his foundation at Princeton University, earning a B.A. in Economics. His academic background equipped him with the analytical insight to recognize the fragmented state of commercial property data and the opportunity to centralize it using technology.
From Dorm Room to Industry Disruptor
Andrew Florance founded CoStar Group in 1987 , starting it in a college dorm with the mission to digitize property data before the widespread adoption of the internet. As CEO of CoStar Group, he introduced a novel concept: outsourcing commercial real estate research to an independent, tech-driven platform an innovation that laid the groundwork for the industry’s digitization.
In 1998, under the stewardship of Andrew Florance CEO of CoStar Group went public on NASDAQ, raising substantial capital to support its growth and acquisitions. Today, as CoStar Group’s CEO, Florance oversees a global real estate information network that continues to lead the market and pioneer new technologies.
Leadership that Scales—Innovation and Expansion
As CEO of CoStar Group, Andrew Florance has turned the company into a publicly traded powerhouse and a member of both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 indices. His vision led CoStar into strategic acquisitions, including LoopNet, Apartments.com, Homes.com, STR, Ten-X, and Matterport expanding its footprint across commercial, residential, hospitality, and spatial-analytics sectors.
Florance’s leadership style is both innovative and assertive. He has garnered recognition as a Globee CEO of the Year, Visionary Leader, and a top figure in PropTech by Commercial Observer. He’s also named among the most powerful real estate leaders in the SP 200 and acknowledged by Forbes and Fortune as leading one of the fastest-growing and most innovative firms.
Vision, Persistence, and Impact
Beyond boardrooms and financials, Andrew Florance stays actively engaged in civic, academic, and philanthropic efforts. He serves on the Board of Visitors at Virginia Commonwealth University, supports Management Leadership for Tomorrow, and has held leadership or trustee roles across notable institutions like Princeton, Washington National Cathedral, Children’s National Health System, and the National Building Museum.
Florance has also co-authored academic research on commercial real estate economics and sustainability, earning accolades such as the Best Manuscript Prize from the American Real Estate Society. These efforts underscore his commitment to integrating real estate with data transparency, sustainability, and educational outreach.
Andrew Florance—Driving Real Estate’s Digital Frontier
Andrew Florance CEO of CoStar Group, remains a compelling figure in real estate and technology. With humble beginnings in a dorm room at Princeton, he built CoStar Group into a tech-savvy, global leader in property data and marketplaces. His combination of economic insight, entrepreneurial grit, strategic acquisitions, and civic leadership highlights a visionary CEO dedicated to transforming an industry.
Andrew Florance stands as a testament to how one person’s vision, rooted in a clear sense of purpose and academic grounding, can reshape an entire industry. As CEO of CoStar Group, he continues to guide the digital transformation of real estate, empowering professionals with tools to make smarter decisions in a fast-evolving marketplace.
