Toxic Culture- Company Has Taken a Sharp Decline Over the Past Year - Research Associate CoStar Group Employee Review

2.0
7 Jul 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a big company and has had a lot of success but there really isn't any competitor who has the size and profitability that CoStar does. However, I wouldn't really say the quality of CoStar's product is "good"by any means. The tenant info is EXTREMELY outdated, Showcase is a waste of money, and the Comps product has severe errors. I would only recommend this company to someone who is strongly interested in real estate and needs to get a start in the industry somewhere.

Cons

Management is horrible and incompetent. You will be micromanaged to the utmost degree, I worked at CoStar for several years and I witnessed managers hovering over employees shoulders as they did their work, require employees to turn in their cell phones in which employees could get them back at lunch and at the end of they day (As you can see, they think you're still in middle school), managers are very immature and gossip about employees and sometimes even start rumors about employees that are complete lies. Your manager is a glorified babysitter, they hate to offer help or guidance on projects and tasks, they sit at their desks and yell at you if you're caught on your phone or on any other website other than Enterprise (company software platform). Any time you need help or advice, you need to figure it out yourself. Office politics are at an all-time high, the hard workers don't get raises or promotions, the people who suck up to their managers the most do. I withnessed a guy with three kids get laid off once (and was a phenomenal researcher) but people who are BFF's with their managers and suck at the job get to stay. Management serves no purpose other than being puppets of the CEO and senior management. The company over the past year has set unattainable and unrealistic standards of their researchers, and those get more and more unreachable each quarter. They simply do not care about their employees- there used to be career paths and employee events to boost morale (company night at a Nats game, ice cream socials etc) and none of that exists anymore. You can find a much better job somewhere else, unless you want to work at CoStar and have the only good part of the day is when you leave at 5:00.

Explore other reviews about CoStar Group

5.0
22 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Development, work life balance, competitive environment, career growth opportunities

Cons

A lot of priorities to juggle

1
1.0
11 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

401k, medical benefits snacks decent base salary

Cons

Working at CoStar Group was one of the most emotionally exhausting sales environments I’ve experienced. The culture on my team was extremely male-dominated, hyper-competitive, and very much “sink or swim.” Collaboration was talked about constantly by management, but in reality the environment rewarded internal competition, territorial behavior, favoritism, and politics over actual teamwork. As one of the few women on the sales team, I often felt isolated and unsupported. Instead of mentorship or coaching, the expectation was basically: “figure it out yourself.” New hires were thrown into difficult situations with inconsistent training and unrealistic expectations, while certain reps appeared to receive stronger books of business, better territories, or more support than others. It created resentment and a toxic atmosphere where coworkers often felt more like competitors waiting for you to fail than teammates. The turnover was incredibly high, which should have been a red flag. Management pushed aggressive quotas and nonstop pressure while failing to address morale, burnout, or fairness concerns. There was also an unhealthy obsession with leaderboard culture and internal politics that made the workplace feel stressful every single day. What disappointed me most was that I genuinely believed in the product and enjoyed helping clients. Many customers loved working with me, and I built strong relationships. But internally, the environment became mentally draining. The constant competitiveness, lack of support, and toxic culture eventually outweighed the positives of the role.

5
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All