Journalist and Internet entrepreneur Brad Inman today launched a new Web site that will allow sellers to solicit bids from real estate agents who want to list their homes, a site that Inman feels will bring organization and true competition to the listing process.

"You're always told to talk to a couple of real estate agents before you list your house, but the truth is that most people only make one phone call and that's who gets the listing," Inman said.

"This site is a tool that brings more organization to the process."

The site, HomeGain.com provides potential homesellers extensive information to familiarize themselves with the real estate process, including a 1,000-world glossary of real estate terms and basic information on how to improve salability.

The soul of the service, however, is its ability to connect sellers with listing agents.

Agents interested in bidding for listings must first register on the site, providing their real estate license number and other background information, as well as their e-mail addresses. Currently registration is free, but Inman said after an introductory period he will charge agents between $300 and $500 per year to participate.

Consumers trying to find the best agent for their property will come into the site and work through a series of pages. They will provide their name, and e-mail address, answer several questions about their home, including neighborhood and street, but not the actual street address.

There are tools on the site to help them find a price range (but the site encourages sellers to work with a professional before setting a final number).

When sellers submit their data, it triggers an e-mail to registered agents. Agents then survey the seller's data and, if interested, submit proposals back to the system for the seller to collect and analyze.

Agents who, of course, realize they are bidding against other agents -- are expected to include the commission or fee they'd charge the seller and are free to reduce those fees if they feel it would make them more competitive.

But proposals also may include information about how many homes in that price range or neighborhood the agent has sold, the agents' general experience and other information the agent feels is relevant to getting the seller's listing.

Inman dismisses the idea that the bidding process primarily is a tool to ferret out agents who will cut their commissions. "Our focus groups found that consumers are more interested in experience and expertise than they are in just the commission," he said.

While agent sign up for the system begins immediately, he said the consumer side would not become operative until there are enough agents onboard in a region to provide a competitive pool.

Inman, who helped create a large portion of the advisory information on the Microsoft HomeAdvisor Web site, has taken a leave of absence from his own Inman Group while HomeGain is in the launch phase.

Published: April 26, 1999

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