1. In a system comprising a real estate database containing information regarding commercial real estate properties, a method for disseminating information contained in the real estate database comprising: receiving from a user a series of points on a map that define a polygonal search area; receiving search attributes from the user; searching the real estate database for properties within the polygonal search area that meet the search attributes; and displaying, to the user, information about the properties within the polygonal search area that meet the search attributes.