[Protest of HUD Rejection of Bid for Real Estate Assessment]

A firm protested the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) rejection of its bid for multifamily real estate assessment and analysis services, contending that HUD: (1) misevaluated its proposal; and (2) failed to conduct meaningful discussions. GAO held that HUD: (1) reasonably evaluated the protester's bid in accordance with the solicitation's evaluation criteria; and (2) conducted meaningful discussions with the protester, since the record established that the protester was led into areas in which HUD was concerned that the proposal needed amplification and improvement. Accordingly, the protest was denied.