"We are pleased to welcome Real Estate Forum as co-sponsor of the 2004 Power Broker Awards," says Andrew C. Florance, president and CEO of CoStar Group. "Forum is a respected industry source for insightful and original content on important commercial real estate topics of the day, and we are delighted to have them play an integral part in our Power Broker Awards. Their involvement will bring even greater recognition to the talented brokers and brokerage firms that are the recipients."

Altogether, CoStar will present 3,100 awards, with 1,100 going to firms and the remaining 2,000 to be given to individuals. CoStar's top 20 will recognize leading firms in each market, based on aggregate square footage of office and industrial leasing deals; and awards will also be given to the top 10 brokerage firms based on sales in each market.

As for individual achievements, CoStar will honor the top 20 dealmakers in office and industrial property leasing in each market, as well as the top 10 achievers in sales in each market. Real estate activity of firms and individuals is judged based upon transactions verified in the CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, and CoStar COMPS databases. Winners will be chosen from tens of thousands of firms and individuals throughout the US.