REDMOND, Wash., May 20, 1999 — HomeSeekers.com Inc. (OTC BB: HMSK) and the MSN TM HomeAdvisor TM online real estate service today announced they will provide free personal Web pages to real estate agents nationwide. For the first time, agents will be able to create their own Web page hosted by HomeSeekers.com and containing personalized links to HomeAdvisor home listings and award-winning content areas. The free pages are available to all agents beginning today and are the latest example of how HomeSeekers.com and Microsoft Corp. are providing real estate professionals with the technology tools they need to be more productive and to sell more homes.
Each free Web page will include the agent’s picture, contact information and a personalized URL. Consumers who visit an agent’s Web page will be able to contact the agent, view home listings, check on neighborhood information and browse through the checklists, decision tools or editorial information found with HomeAdvisor. The page helps agents further promote themselves as both real estate professionals and technology innovators, and the user-friendly URL allows for easy, individualized marketing. The pages will also link to HomeSeekers.com, giving consumers access to two of the largest databases of home listings on the Web.
“This announcement significantly changes the online real estate landscape,”
said John Tuccillo, former chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
“No one else in the real estate industry has come close to offering this much value free of charge. It frees the agent from worrying about the cost and effort associated with maintaining a Web page, leaving them to concentrate on selling homes.”
Both HomeSeekers.com and HomeAdvisor will begin signing agents up for free Web pages this weekend at the NAR midyear convention in Washington, D.C. Visitors to both companies’ booths can have their pictures taken with digital cameras and have their free Web page created on the spot. Agents can also sign up by visiting http://freewebpage.homeseekers.com/ or in the HomeAdvisor Partners Center at http://www.homeadvisor.MSN.com/ .
“The cost and difficulty of Web site development is a large deterrent for many real estate agents, impeding them from getting on the Internet,”
said Greg Johnson, CEO of HomeSeekers.com.
“By teaming up with HomeAdvisor and matching our leading agent Web site technology with the unmatched home buying content of HomeAdvisor, we’ve created a single, comprehensive solution for real estate agents. This is a breakthrough offer at any price, but the fact that we are providing this high-quality service to agents for free is extraordinary.”
About HomeSeekers.com
HomeSeekers.com Inc. ( http://www.homeseekers.com/ ), a leading provider of online residential real estate listing information for use by home buyers, real estate agents, mortgage and title insurance companies and others, is dedicated to simplifying residential real estate transactions. The company currently has aggregated approximately 680,000 real estate listings on its Web site, representing more than half of all home listings in the United States at any time. The database is updated daily to reflect home sales and new listings. More than 15 million home page views occur on the site per month.
About MSN HomeAdvisor
MSN HomeAdvisor is the Internet’s most 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. Winner of the Inman Innovator Award as best residential real estate site, HomeAdvisor is a PC Magazine Top 100 Web site and Yahoo! Internet Life Best of the Best winner. Part of the MSN network of Internet 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.
Microsoft, MSN and HomeAdvisor are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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