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Virginia-based portal CoStar Group is aiming to add 1,000 employees to its Richmond technology and research campus, which is currently undergoing a $460 million upgrade.
The Homes.com and Virtual Lease platforms will account for the majority of new hires, as CoStar looks to hire 500 Homes.com sales professionals and 100 Visual Lease market analysts. The remaining 400 roles will be spread across CoStar’s development, technology, artificial intelligence, video production, real estate writing, news and management teams.
“Since establishing its global operations center in Richmond in 2016, CoStar Group has grown that office to over 2,350 employees, becoming one of the area’s larger employers,” the announcement read. “The company will complete its major one million square foot campus development along the James River in May 2026. Upon completion, the campus will be nearly full and house 3,500 employees.”
As CoStar beefs up its Homes.com and Visual Lease teams, the portal is making cuts in other teams whose responsibilities have been replaced by artificial intelligence. Inman reached out for additional details on those cuts, including which roles will be eliminated, the number of employees in those roles, and whether those employees will be given severance or an opportunity to transition to another team. CoStar has yet to respond to those questions.
“CoStar Group sees rapidly growing value in leveraging artificial intelligence to improve content creation, drive operational efficiencies, and build the next generation of digital real estate user interfaces,” the announcement read. “… The company also anticipates reducing some roles during normal annual performance management. This strategic growth aligns with the company’s long-term sustainable expansion vision and is not expected to affect the company’s first-quarter or full-year financial guidance in 2025.”
In the company’s latest earnings call, founder and CEO Andy Florance laid the blueprint for Homes.com’s growth, which has partially been hindered by the lack of a dedicated sales force. Homes.com had 275 dedicated salespeople at the end of 2024 and will expand to 325 salespeople by the end of March. In addition to increasing memberships among agents, CoStar said it’s looking to strengthen its reach with homebuilders.
“Most homebuyers consider purchasing either new construction or an existing home,” the announcement read. “To continue growing its audience, CoStar Group is investing in creating the best possible inventory of new construction homes for sale on Homes.com.”
In addition to hiring 1,000 employees, CoStar said it will gain 500 employees from Matterport, as it nears the final steps of completing its $1.6 billion acquisition of the spatial mapping and marketing solutions company. “The acquisition of Matterport furthers CoStar Group’s commitment to investing in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and broadens the use of powerful digital twin technologies across its platforms,” the announcement read.
CoStar said its hiring plans will help the company reach its internal and external growth plans.
In 2024, CoStar hired 1,570 employees, equaling a 9.6 percent year-over-year headcount increase. The typical employee stays with CoStar for 4.4 years, with over 2,000 employees having been with the company for five years or more.
