Editor's note: This series is designed to help real estate professionals evaluate the large listings services as potential marketing partners. The information is provided by senior level executives with each company.

Homes.com concentrates solely on showcasing and financing existing and new homes for sale. Customer products are designed as a one-stop-shop from home and agent selection, to mortgages, to moving and relocation services.

Homes.com is far from new to the Internet, and was one of the first national advertising mediums for real estate professionals. The site was launched in 1993 as an additional advertising vehicle for agents who were already customers of the Homes & Land Magazine and Rental Guide network of print publications. The listings site benefits from its association with the magazines as they reach over 15,000 communities, offering double exposure for agents in print and on the Web. The company currently boasts over 97,000 agents as customers. Listings for the site are obtained from advertisers in the magazine, MLS organizations, site partners, and individual agents who wish to advertise their properties on Homes.com.

Agent Web pages and sites continue to be a big push for the company, which concentrates on personal branding and customer service solutions via such products as Preferred Pages, MyPersonalBrand.com, and AgentDirect products.

Governing philosophy: "Real Estate professionals drive the transaction. Homes.com provides the tools to streamline the process through an easy-to-use Web product." Pete Butler, vice president of product development.

Restrictions: None. The agent has complete control over his/her site.

Active listings nationwide: 720,000

Number of visitors monthly: 1.4 Million

Number of viewings per listing monthly: 26 on average.

Daily updates of listings: Yes

New listing email alerts: Yes, via the site's e-communications center

Does Homes.com sell Web sites/pages to agents: Yes

Pricing: $495 per year, and $49 a month. Editor's note: The site has a special offer provided by iOwn where an agent can receive the package for no setup by agreeing to use the iOwn mortgage center.

Most Expensive: myPersonalBrand.com - $495 setup, with a monthly fee of $49 per month. Includes the following:

• Domain name (yourname.com)
• Personally branded "Contact Me" lead-generator on every page
• Up to five personalized email accounts
• Manage your own site (no programming knowledge necessary)
• Toll-Free member services support
• Content sharing with listing directories (Yahoo!, etc.)
• Enhanced listing detail pages with lead generator
• Unlimited listings with up to eight photos per listing
• Personalized photo and resume
• National "Search For Homes" database
• Registration with major search engines (Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, etc.)
• School information
• Audio and video clip
• Virtual tour and video tour support
• Open House advertising with lead generator
• Featured property page with lead generator
• Over 24 template designs
• Advanced site activity reporting
• Advanced lead tracking tools
• Articles and links (supplied and customizable)
• Current real estate news
• Home advice Q&A Database with real estate glossary
• Mapping by MapQuest
• Detailed property reports
• Homeseller reports and flyer generator

Least Expensive: Agent Direct- free of charge

• A personalized Web address (yourname.homes.com)
• An email account
• Photo and contact information
• Distribution on Homes.com and its partners' sites

Other programs available?: The "Broker Advantage" product

Is Broker/office marketing available?: Yes

Pricing: Starting at $1,750 (comes with custom configuration and professional services consulting)

Most expensive: N/A, pricing is based on a scale associated with the number of agents.

Upgrades to Web site/page available: Yes

Affiliates where listings will also be showcased: Yahoo!, iOwn, LookSmart, InfoSpace, TheGlobe, NetTaxi, AvantGo, HomeAdvisor, Classifieds2000

Company revenue model: sales of web solutions for Real Estate professionals, advertising and e-commerce for consumers on the Homes.com site.

Last word by Bob Prince, CEO of Homes.com: "Homes.com believes that the Internet will further the real estate professional's role in the transaction. Our tools will enhance and support your business for many years to come."

Overview

Pros: Great value for the money. Homes.com offers superior distribution at a relatively low cost. The services are easy to understand and are cost effective for both consumers and real estate agents, making the site an ideal advertising partner. The site claims to have driven over 700,000 leads to agent customers last month. Homes.com is one of the few national sites where a buyer's agent or transactional agent sold out of listings can market themselves in the site's directory.

Cons: The site, like its competitors, is also short-sightedly listings dependent. There is a missed opportunity for exposure for buyer's agents in the Builder search feature which also fails to offer any advice for consumers to contact an agent, or a second chance to access the agent directory. The site reports that some Gold Alliance MLS organizations refuse to provide Homes.com agent customers with their own data, limiting available listings for viewing.

Editor's note: The Broker Advantage product was mistakenly called "Our Broker" on an earlier edition of Agent News. Our apologies. Blanche Evans, editor.