AOL Interactive Services, the Internet online services division of America Online, Inc., and Realtor.com, the market-leading online real estate site and a premier online aggregator of classified home listings, have announced a relationship to make Realtor.com the exclusive provider of existing home listings on the AOL service, as well as on AOL.com, AOL's Web site and the number-one consumer site on the World Wide Web, and on AOL's Digital City, the nation's largest locally focused online network.

This agreement will bring Realtor.com's more than 1 million home listings -- the largest collection of up-to-date property listings on the Internet -- to AOL members and users of AOL.com and Digital City through an AOL-Realtor.com co-branded site.

AOL will receive guaranteed minimum payments of $14 million over the 40-month term of the agreement, and will also share in advertising and transaction revenues. Links to Realtor.com's home listings will be available in AOL's newly launched Real Estate Center, AOL Classifieds areas on both the AOL service and on AOL.com, and the Digital City Real Estate areas.

Through the AOL-Realtor.com co-branded site, AOL members and users of AOL.com and Digital City will be able to conduct customized searches, making the hunt for their dream house in any part of the country easier than ever before.

Once AOL members find homes that interest them, they can then directly contact the appropriate Realtor handling the each property to view it firsthand.

Listings on Realtor.com include a comprehensive array of details about the property, including location, square footage, number of bedrooms, etc., as well as asking price and detailed maps of where the house is located.

"Realtor.com is a comprehensive and powerful force in the online real estate world, and having easy access to its more than 1 million listings will be a real benefit for AOL members as well as AOL.com and Digital City users," says Barry Schuler, president of AOL Interactive Services. "Online real estate services like Realtor.com are a great example of a challenging activity made easier through the magic of online."

"We're delighted to be a part of AOL's thriving online community,'' says Stuart Wolff, CEO of RealSelect. "Anyone who has ever been house-hunting knows how complicated the process can be. Now AOL members and real estate agents across the country can draw on the powerful resources of Realtor.com to make finding the perfect home faster and easier than ever before."

Launched in March, the AOL Real Estate Center contains many of the most respected names in the real estate, mortgage, and loan industries. The Real Estate Center is comprised of five categories: Looking, Selling, Renting, Moving, and Financing, to quickly give AOL members direct access to loan information, financial calculators, and more than 1 million home listings, among other resources.

America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Va., operates two worldwide Internet online services: AOL, with more than 12 million members; and CompuServe, with more than 2 million members.

America Online also operates AOL Studios, the world's leading creator of original interactive content, which includes Digital City, Inc. Other branded Internet services operated by America Online include AOL.com, the world's most accessed Web site from home; AOL Instant Messenger, allowing instant communication with all AOL members and Internet users using the AOL Instant Messenger product; and AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet.

Realtor.com is the official Internet site of the National Association of Realtors and is currently used by more than 3 million consumers each month. With 1.1 million listings in 50 states and Canada, it generates more than 88 million home views each month.

The site utilizes a patent-pending search function, which allows consumers to enter up to 80 specific desired home amenities. Realtor.com is operated by RealSelect, Inc., based in Westlake Village, Calif., under an operating agreement with the Realtors Information Network, a subsidiary of the National Association of Realtors.

Published: April 24, 1998

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.