BOSTON, Sept. 9, 1998 — The Microsoft Ò
HomeAdvisor online real estate service, a comprehensive guide to finding homes and loans, today announced an exclusive distribution agreement with GeoCities, making HomeAdvisor the sole provider of real estate listings at the community site. The deal represents an expanded foray into real estate for GeoCities, which will now feature a real estate section called the GeoCities Real Estate Center. The service is available free to Internet users at http://www.geocities.com/ (connect-time charges may apply).
The announcement further extends the availability of HomeAdvisor throughout the Web following last month’s agreements with several portals and Internet service sites, such as Yahoo!, Infoseek, Switchboard, Pathfinder and others. Users at each of these sites have access to home listings and loan offerings from HomeAdvisor, as well as the site’s acclaimed neighborhood information and home-buying tutorials.
“Home-buying information is an important service for online communities today,” said Thomas R. Evans, GeoCities CEO and president. “By joining forces with HomeAdvisor, we’re able to provide online consumers with the most comprehensive real estate information available on the Web today. Microsoft and GeoCities share a common goal to demystify the Web for everyday users, which makes our distribution agreement a tremendous win for GeoCities and HomeAdvisor customers.”
“This exclusive relationship with GeoCities reinforces our commitment to providing online consumers with easy access to the richest set of home-buying tools and information available on the Internet,” said Ian Morris, lead product manager for HomeAdvisor. “As one of the most highly trafficked sites on the Internet, GeoCities cements the availability of HomeAdvisor across the Internet, making it fast and easy for people to find the best home-buying information available today.”
Home listings from HomeAdvisor, as well as its neighborhood data and home-buying tutorial information, will be fully integrated into GeoCities’ new Real Estate Center. Users at GeoCities also will be able to jump directly to HomeAdvisor from the Center.
About GeoCities
Based in Santa Monica, Calif., with advertising sales offices in New York and San Francisco, GeoCities ( http://www.geocities.com/ ) is the largest and one of the fastest-growing communities of personal Web sites on the Internet. The GeoCities community has grown to over 2.1 million “Homesteads” in July 1998. Homesteaders have created an estimated 17 million pages of personalized content, attracting over 14.8 million unique visitors to and generating over 925 million page views on the GeoCities community, according to Relevant Knowledge and Nielsen I/PRO.
About HomeAdvisor
HomeAdvisor is the Internet’s most complete guide for finding homes and loans, combining Microsoft technology with services and expertise from the most trusted names in the real estate industry. The site empowers consumers through every step of the home-buying process and is the first Internet site to fully integrate content and services such as neighborhood, crime and school statistics with homes, loans, editorial content and expert advice. Part of The Microsoft Network of online products and services, HomeAdvisor launched in July 1998 and is free on the World Wide Web at http://www.homeadvisor.com/ (connect-time charges may apply).
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
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