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Organization and Business
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Organization and Business
1.

Organization and Business

Reis, Inc. is a Maryland corporation. When we refer to “Reis” or the “Company,” we are referring to Reis, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. The Company provides commercial real estate market information and analytical tools to real estate professionals, through its Reis Services subsidiary. For disclosure and financial reporting purposes, this business is referred to as the Reis Services segment.

Reis Services

Reis Services, including its predecessors, was founded in 1980. Reis maintains a proprietary database containing detailed information on commercial properties in metropolitan markets and neighborhoods throughout the U.S. The database contains information on apartment, office, retail, warehouse/distribution, flex/research & development, self storage, seniors housing, student housing and affordable housing properties, and is used by real estate investors, lenders and other professionals to make informed buying, selling and financing decisions. In addition, Reis data is used by debt and equity investors to assess, quantify and manage the risks of default and loss associated with individual mortgages, properties, portfolios and real estate backed securities. Reis currently provides its information services to many of the nation’s leading lending institutions, equity investors, brokers and appraisers.

The Company’s product portfolio features: Reis SE, its flagship delivery platform aimed at larger and mid-sized enterprises; ReisReports, aimed at prosumers and smaller enterprises; Reis Portfolio CRE and other portfolio support products and services, aimed primarily at risk managers and credit administrators at banks and non-bank lending institutions. It is through these products that Reis provides online access to a proprietary database of commercial real estate information and analytical tools designed to facilitate debt and equity transactions as well as ongoing asset and portfolio evaluations. Depending on the product or level of entitlement, users have access to market trends and forecasts at metropolitan and neighborhood levels throughout the U.S. and/or detailed building-specific information such as rents, vacancy rates, lease terms, property sales, new construction listings and property valuation estimates. Reis’s products are designed to meet the demand for timely and accurate information to support the decision making of property owners, developers, builders, banks and non-bank lenders, equity investors and service providers. These real estate professionals require access to timely information on both the performance and pricing of assets, including detailed data on market transactions, supply, absorption, rents and sale prices. This information is critical to all aspects of valuing assets and financing their acquisition, development and construction.

Discontinued Operations – Residential Development Activities

Prior to May 2007, the name of the Company was Wellsford Real Properties, Inc. (“Wellsford”). Wellsford, which was originally formed on January 8, 1997, acquired the Reis Services business by merger in May 2007 (the “Merger”). Wellsford’s primary operating activities immediately prior to the Merger, and conducted through its subsidiaries, were the development, construction and sale of three residential projects and its approximate 23% ownership interest in the Reis Services business. The Company completed the sale of the remaining residential units and homes at its projects or divested of the remaining residential projects in bulk sales by April 2011. In 2012, the Company settled construction defect litigation at its Colorado project and in 2015, finalized its efforts to recover funds from other responsible parties involved in the design, development, construction and supervision of the Colorado project as more fully described in Note 3.