Homeseekers.com and Microsoft's HomeAdvisor.com are joint-venturing a new service
for agents - free Web pages with personalized links to listings, neighborhoods,
and loans, as well as other home buying content.
Fulfilling a strategic partnership begun in January, HomeSeekers will
provide the Web design and hosting for the free agent Web pages, while
HomeAdvisor will provide content links to enrich the sites.
Each free Web page will include the agent's picture, complete contact
information, and a personalized URL (http://johnsmith.homeseekers.com).
Consumers who visit their agent's Web page will be able to contact the agent,
view home listings, look at neighborhood information, and browse HomeAdvisor's
checklists, decision tools, and editorial information. The pages will also link
to HomeSeekers.com, giving consumers instant access to two of the largest
databases of home listings on the Web.
Can't Beat Free
What's in it for the agent? The free Web site is an excellent way for agents
who have been wary of the Internet to get their feet wet. The site helps
agents further promote themselves as both real estate professionals and
technology innovators, and their URL allows for easy individualized marketing.
"The cost and difficulty of Web site development is a large deterrent for
many real estate agents, impeding them from getting on the Internet," says
Greg Johnson, CEO of HomeSeekers.com. "By teaming up with HomeAdvisor and
matching our agent Web site technology with HomeAdvisor's home buying content,
we've created a single comprehensive solution for real estate agents. This is
a breakthrough offer at any price, but the fact that we are providing this high
quality service to agents for free is extraordinary."
Agents can sign up at the NAR convention
Both HomeSeekers.com and HomeAdvisor will begin signing agents up for free
Web pages this weekend at the National Association of Realtors (NAR) mid-year
convention in Washington, D.C. Visitors to both companies' booths can have
their pictures taken with digital cameras and have their free Web page
created on the spot. Their webpage can then be viewed on the web within two hours.
Agents can also sign up now by visiting freewebpage.homeseekers.com or in the HomeAdvisor Partners Center at www.homeadvisor.com online. These webpages will be available within 24 hours of signing up.
The new service will most surely be a win-win-win for the agent, HomeSeekers
and HomeAdvisor. "It's a risk-free way to get on the Web, and the agent's name
stays in front of the consumer the whole time," says Ian Morris, project
manager for HomeAdvisor. "We put their picture on the site, and the best part
is they get the home page. When the consumer clicks through to one of the
links, it will say HomeAdvisor on the screen, but it will be presented by the
agent. The agent is getting the branding."
HomeSeekers, which has long designed Web sites for agents, will have the
opportunity to provide upgrades to those agents who want additional services.
HomeAdvisor will have another opportunity to attract and capture the agent
market.
Published: May 19, 1999
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