Realty Times May 17, 2002

Homeseekers.com Continues Rollout of IDX Solutions
by Blanche Evans

HomeSeekers.com Inc. (OTC: HMSK), d/b/a Realigent Inc., announced today the implementation of it¹s IDX solution, IDX PlusŒ, with the Orange Coast Association of Realtors® in Newport Beach, Calif. This completes the sixth major implementation of IDX Plus. Other customers include SoCalMLS, Sandicor MLS, and Reno Sparks MLS.

"It is incredible what Realigent has done with their IDX Plus product," said Patricia Moore, EVP of the Orange Coast Association of Realtors®. "IDX Plus not only gives our members smart framing capabilities, but also gives us as the MLS provider full customization and reporting capabilities."

IDX Plus is an Internet gateway that allows agents and brokers to provide a searchable database of homes for sale on their public websites. The listings can be displayed with street maps, virtual tours, multiple photos, school information, and neighborhood information. IDX Plus is powered by Realigent¹s world-class data aggregation division, which is comprised of the same team that manages the listings for HomeSeekers.com and the Microsoft Home Advisor real estate portal.

"IDX Plus is very similar to a product called CityNet that we have been offering to our Lightning Website customers," said Andy Woolley, Realigent¹s director of sales-Internet products. "We have been aggregating MLS data and posting that information in partnerships with MLS Providers on our Homeseekers.com portal for years. With IDX Plus we have been able to take advantage of the tools we created to automate the aggregation and post the MLS data into the most advanced and powerful IDX solution in the industry."

"We at Realigent are very proud of our technology solution for aggregating and posting MLS data," said John Hensley, Realigent chief technology officer. "Our systems are monitored 24/7. Data updates typically occur nightly, but can be processed as often as every few hours. The recent move of our data center to the Qwest CyberCenter in Burbank only makes things better."

IDX Plus offers additional benefits to MLS providers, including ­

  • IDX Plus can be integrated with the Public MLS website, and the displays can be altered to include listing agent and broker contact information, with all leads passed directly to the listing agent.

  • All data can be made accessible via secure ftp downloads to enable data sharing with authorized MLS partners. The MLS maintains full and complete control of all access to the data.

  • Access to www.mls.rdesk.com provides the MLS with real time reporting capabilities, showing how much traffic the listings are generating through all IDX Plus points of access.

  • It can be extremely challenging and time consuming to police the IDX rules and regulations on all member websites. By establishing IDX Plus as the standard smart framing solution, policing requirements are minimized significantly. Realigent monitors changes to IDX rules and regulations and makes sure all requirements are met and strictly enforced.


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