Coldwell Banker® announces the launch of Personal Retreivertm, its new free Web site service which automatically searches and "fetches" property listings, interest rates, and comparable home sale information that matches online home buyers' criteria. The first national real estate company to create an Internet site, Coldwell Banker is now taking the lead in autoquery technology designed to address individual home buyers' and sellers' needs.

"Today's prospective home buyer and sellers not only want to be informed about houses in the marketplace; they want customized information, and they want it as soon as it becomes available," says Alex Perriello, president and CEO of Coldwell Banker. "Personal Retriever allows consumers to find houses that match their specific needs. In essence, Personal Retriever enables consumers to find houses that match their specific interests, receive current interest rates, and learn of neighboring homes' sale prices without their having to do the work of searching online every day for new information. Once home buyers have predetermined properties they know they want to see, their sales associates benefit, as well. Both parties can get to the business of real estate more quickly and more efficiently. Ultimately, we feel that this is a service which distinguishes us from the competition, and that it will bring more customers to our door."

Personal Retriever is a free, optional service to any Web site browser who has e-mail capabilities. Consumers register through a one-time, user-friendly process in which they simply enter specific information on a profile form about their house location, price range, and room configuration (i.e., number of bedrooms and bathrooms) requirements. Utilizing autoquery technology, Personal Retreiver then automatically searches for profile matches and sends e-mails directly to the customer which contain information on the matching Coldwell Banker listings. The service then connects them automatically to relevant Coldwell Banker online listing pages. As new properties come on the market, Personal Retriever sends e-mails per the consumers' preference on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Personal Retriever also e-mails current interest rates as well as a listing of homes that sold recently in the user's designated neighborhood.

Coldwell Banker has between 150,000 and 170,000 listings throughout the United States and Canada, with nearly 100 percent represented online. Also found on the company's Web page are other features, such as neighborhood and community data about towns across the United States, a mortgage calculator, and special categories of housing. The company is represented by more than 2,700 independently owned and operated real estate offices and nearly 62,000 sales associates.

Published: April 6, 1998

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