REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 3, 1998 — The MSN
™HomeAdvisor™ online real estate service, the first comprehensive guide to finding homes and loans on the Web, today announced it has signed agreements that will make listings from over 500 RE/MAX offices in 40 states available on HomeAdvisor. This represents the largest group of brokers to join any home-buying site to date and will make home listings on HomeAdvisor available to consumers in most of the nation’s largest home-buying markets.
This group of RE/MAX franchises joins dozens of other multiple listing services and brokers who have signed listing agreements with HomeAdvisor since the announcement of BrokerFirst last month. BrokerFirst provides brokers with a free Web page linked to each of their listings from which they can promote their full suite of products and services to potential customers. BrokerFirst is available free for life to any broker who signs an agreement with HomeAdvisor before Dec. 31, 1998.
“We’re offering brokers everywhere the opportunity to promote their listings to a nationwide audience at no cost,”
said Ian Morris, group product manager for HomeAdvisor at Microsoft Corp.
“Programs such as BrokerFirst underscore our commitment to keeping the Realtor at the center of the real estate transaction while enabling real estate brokers to market their full suite of services to the millions of consumers who visit HomeAdvisor. As more and more brokers have seen the incredible success our current listing providers are enjoying, they’ve quickly realized that HomeAdvisor is a can’t-miss opportunity to generate new leads and help sell more homes faster.”
“We want to get the most exposure we can for our listings and HomeAdvisor, more than any other real estate site out there, helps us do that,”
said Lee Finch, president of RE/MAX Greater Atlanta.
“They’ve worked hard to make this site the most comprehensive, consumer-friendly site on the Web today and have preferred distribution agreements with the top Internet sites to ensure that users everywhere have easy access to our agents and our listings.”
Leading RE/MAX brokers from across the nation who provide their listings to HomeAdvisor through an alliance with Comstock Net Services Inc. met with HomeAdvisor officials at a one-day summit in Redmond earlier this month. Rick Hayden, president of RE/MAX Mutual Realty in Clearwater, Fla., said that everyone in attendance was excited about what HomeAdvisor would mean for their business.
“Microsoft has shown beyond a doubt it is committed to helping us generate new customers and sell more homes,”
Hayden said.
“The combination of BrokerFirst from HomeAdvisor and Comstock’s Grand Tour gives us the perfect one-two punch for harnessing the Internet. As a result, we’ll see better-educated, ready-to-buy customers who know what they’re looking for.”
Some of the market leaders that have signed up with HomeAdvisor include RE/MAX Around Atlanta-All Stars Inc.; RE/MAX Realty 100 in Milwaukee; RE/MAX Excel in Riverdale, Ga.; RE/MAX Plano in Plano, Texas; RE/MAX A-1 Excellence in Excelsior, Minn.; RE/MAX Greater Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga.; RE/MAX Mutual Realty in Clearwater, Fla.; RE/MAX of Atlanta in Tucker, Ga.; RE/MAX Elite in Hinsdale, Ill.; RE/MAX Canyon Creek in Bothell, Wash.; RE/MAX Professional, Realtors in Thousand Oaks, Calif.; RE/MAX Property Professionals in Albany, N.Y.; RE/MAX Around Atlanta (Marietta West); RE/MAX Associates of Dallas; RE/MAX of Atlanta; RE/MAX of Barrington, Ill.; RE/MAX Classic Realty in Canton, Mich.; RE/MAX Preferred of Madison, Wis.; RE/MAX Realty North in Tallahassee, Fla.; RE/MAX Select in Sterling, Va.; RE/MAX Suburban DFW of Flower Mound, Texas; RE/MAX Properties in Colorado Springs, Colo.; RE/MAX Properties in Sarasota, Fla.; RE/MAX Neighbors in Gainesville, Ga.; RE/MAX Boise in Boise, Idaho; RE/MAX Professionals in Springfield, Ill.; RE/MAX Suburban in Chicago; RE/MAX Masters in Everett, Wash.; RE/MAX Lonestar in Southlake, Texas; RE/MAX Unlimited in Peoria, Ill.; RE/MAX American Dream in Baltimore; RE/MAX Associates of Louisville, Ky.; RE/MAX Brokers in Midvale, Utah; RE/MAX Real Estate Center in Brentwood, Tenn.; RE/MAX Landmark in Stoughton, Mass.; RE/MAX Realty Associates in Champaign, Ill.; RE/MAX Realty North in Seattle; RE/MAX Realty West in Federal Way, Wash.; RE/MAX Sno-King in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.; RE/MAX Space Center in Houston; RE/MAX Unlimited in Palatine, Ill.; RE/MAX Team 2000 in Orland Park, Ill.; RE/MAX Freedom Realtors II in Albuquerque, N.M.; RE/MAX Action Realty in Horsham, Penn.; RE/MAX of Reading in Reading, Penn.; RE/MAX Preferred Properties in Knoxville, Tenn.; RE/MAX Ready Team in Memphis, Tenn.; RE/MAX Associates in San Antonio; RE/MAX DFW Associates in Coppel, Texas; RE/MAX Commonwealth in Richmond, Va.; and RE/MAX on Tatum Realty in Phoenix.
About Comstock
Comstock Net Services Inc. provides state-of-the-art technology to customers, including offices and individual real estate agents, enabling them to maximize the power of the Internet as an explosive broadcasting and marketing tool. By encouraging viewer interaction and inviting
consumers to take a
“photo tour”
of homes, Comstock identifies prospects enabling customers to maximize their marketing efforts.
About MSN HomeAdvisor
HomeAdvisor is the Internet’s complete guide for finding homes and loans, combining Microsoft® technology with services and expertise from some of the most trusted names in the real estate industry. It 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 MSN network of Internet products and services, HomeAdvisor launched in July 1998 and is free on the World Wide Web at http://homeadvisor.MSN.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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