Realtor.com and HomeAdvisor far and away lead the competitive world of online real estate services for the month of September, according to the latest numbers from Media Metrix Inc.

Media Metrix, which recently merged with RelevantKnowledge, is one of the leading providers of Internet audience measurement.

"The merger creates a company that answers the industry's need for a single, accurate and reliable standard in Internet audience measurement," said Mary Ann Packo, president of Media Metrix, Inc. "Such a standard is necessary, as the industry has acknowledged that audience measurement is the driving force of Internet growth."

Media Metrix measures a website's "traffic" by tracking the percentage of the total population of web users in the contiguous 48 states over a month's time who visit a given site. They call this a website's "reach."

According to Media Metrix, there were 60,677,000 people who used the web in September.

Realtor.com, the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, which has a partial interest in this publication, had an audited reach of 2.2%, or about 1,335,000 individuals, who visited the site. This is up from 1,040,220 in August, according to Media Metrix.

Realtor.com, which has 1.25 million home listings, said it had 3.8 million total "visits" to its site in September, which includes repeat users.

Microsoft Corp.'s HomeAdvisor online real estate service was the nearest competitor, reaching 1.1% of the web's population in September, or about 667,450 individuals, according to Hugh Siler, a spokesman for the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant. This is up from 520,110 in August.

Coldwell Banker, part of the Cendant Corp.'s (NYSE:CD) real estate empire, was next with a reach of .7%, or about 425,000 individuals.

Realtorads.com posted a .5% reach, or about 303,400 individuals.

E-Loan, HomeShark.com and Countrywide.com tied with a reach of .4%, or about 242,700 individuals each, according to Media Metrix.

HomeShark.com's performance in September was down from August, when it reached 288,950 users, according to Media Metrix.

Cyberhomes.com, which had 231,160 individuals in August, was not listed.

The merger of Media Metrix and RelevantKnowledge is in response to industry demand for an objective, accurate and reliable standard in Internet and digital media audience measurement.

"The merger of Media Metrix and RelevantKnowledge creates a product portfolio that is without peer. By combining our efforts, we have created the ability to provide our customers with a level of service far greater than either company could have provided working alone," said Jeff Levy, vice chairman and board member of Media Metrix. "The new Media Metrix will clearly play a leading role in shaping the industry standard for Internet audience measurement and enabling the growth of online advertising and e-commerce businesses."

Published: October 23, 1998

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