The site formerly known as NewHomeSearch has taken on a new identity: HomeBuilder.com. RealSelect recently purchased the former NewHomeSearch.com, revamped the site, and soon after, rolled out HomeBuilder.com, touting it as the "Official New Home Listing Site of the National Association of Home Builders." The RealSelect influence is immediately obvious here: Does the left-hand side of the HomeBuilder.com home page strike a familiar chord with anyone? It's reminiscent of the National Association of REALTORS® Web page, and the rest of the HomeBuilder.com site is presented in much the same manner, at least in graphic terms. HomeBuilder.com is easy to navigate, comprehensive, and offers a diverse lineup of subject matter that caters not only to consumers, but to builders, agents, and brokers, as well. And the information is updated daily, ensuring that all of the mortage information and listings of available homes you receive here are current.

The site includes a new-home search capability for house-hunters. Clicking on that option produces a map of the United States. Consumers are asked to click on the state and then the city of their choice. Selecting the city of Dallas, Texas, produced a total of 11,573 available models, plans, and quick-delivery new homes from 901 home builders in 1,245 home communities (how much time do you have?). Several links appeared on the page that listed the results of the search: A New Home Resource Center that enables consumers to obtain a credit report or insurance information, visit an online bookstore, locate various moving tools, and find child and elder care in their new home towns. Consumers also receive the latest mortgage rates in their new home town through this page, and they can receive online approval. In addition, the page includes a link through which consumers may view information about various home communities and their amenities. Top builders also are featured here, and consumers may view their communities online. Another link gives house-hunters the option of ordering via their computers a free housing guide or relocation package that includes map, community information, and general relocation tips.

With 11,573 options from which to choose, it's hard to resist scanning the results of that new-home search. Selecting that option, I was presented with a series of additional choices: a search for new homes by price, area, city, county, and by bedrooms, number of baths, etc. In addition, I could view floorplans, elevations, and color photos, as well as community profiles, maps, and more. (Consumers who are unfamiliar with their new home towns may view them by selecting a map option which should help them select their desired counties, cities, etc.) Results are displayed by community, by builder, or by new homes listed first -- whatever the consumer selects. I also could elect to search for a builder that fit my desired price range by area, city, and community, and I could view online their models, home plans, and available inventory. Another option enables consumers to view homes in planned communities, which have such amenities as golf courses, club houses, jogging trails, community pools, and centers for family entertainment. Consumers who want to build their own homes may search for developed lots on this page. They may view various plats and pictures and receive additional details. And a Realtor search enables home-buyers to search for Realtors in their new home towns.

Heading back to the home page, the site's left-hand-side menu is categoried for consumers, builders, and agents/brokers. The options here are great: In addition to the above-mentioned features for consumers (new-home search, resource center, up-to-date mortgage rates, featured communities and builders, and a free housing guide and relocation package), consumers may check out the latest real estate news on Real Times, consult a builder directory, find an agent, or view a national map. Builders may select from options including information about joining their local Home Builders' Associations, or they may obtain information about listing their homes on the HomeBuilder.com site. There's a link that caters to National Association of Home Builders members only, and another link brings builders to an online bookstore just for them, called BuilderBooks.com. The "Agents & Brokers Only" section gives agents and brokers access to the site's database of more than 100,000 homes and plans by more than 5,000 builders in several major U.S. cities. Agents may conduct searches by MLS areas, school systems, and other criteria; and they may print out the site's relocation packages and property and builder profiles for their clients. Participating agent members may order New Home Directories in selected U.S. markets. The directories list each property available in a particular market and also include information about builders, their communities, local schools, and more.

RealSelect has indeed worked its magic on the former NewHomeSearch.com. The new-and-improved HomeBuilder.com brings together everyone involved in the home-building and buying process -- builders, agents and brokers, and consumers -- and delivers timely information designed to make the home-building and buying process easier at every stage of the process. Relocating consumers, in particular, will appreciate HomeBuilder.com; heading to an unfamiliar city -- particularly when you have to find a new home in a limited amount of time -- is unsettling, to say the least. HomeBuilder.com introduces relocating home-buyers to their new communities through maps and the most thorough information available on the 'Net concerning builders, their home plans, and available inventory.

Published: October 27, 1998

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