HomeStore has done an excellent job of expanding its brands to offer the online buyer and seller something of value at every click of the mouse. From new and existing home searches to home improvement resources, HomeStore has it all. With the acquisition of HomeFair, an information-rich resource for home buyers, HomeStore delivers top home buying content to the Internet home buyer.

The listings which are supplied to Realtor.com from MLSs across the country now have value-added features, thanks to HomeFair and other HomeStore partners.

For example, under every home listing, buyer/visitors can click on two new reports which transport them directly to the HomeFair site for a free City Report and School Report.

These are wonderful free reports for consumers to have access, but as far as some agents feel, the reports pose significant problems.

First, the navigation for the consumer is no longer seamless. In order to get the reports, the visitor has to input all of their information a second time. It is this redundant input that leads the visitor away from the listing, and more significantly, away from the listing agent who supplied the listing in the first place.

When the visitor goes to City Report and inputs his/her information, s/he is queried as to whether or not s/he owns a home and is in need of a real estate professional to list the home, and if s/he is interested in being assisted by a real estate professional to buy a home. The following are direct quotes from the HomeFair request form:

"Would you like to receive our FREE newsletter? It contains information, tips and offers on Relocation"

"Sell your home with the services of a knowledgeable local Real Estate Professional. Choose to be referred to a pre-screened listing expert in your area."

"...Choose to be referred to a pre-screened relocation expert in your new area."

Knoxville Realtor Jim Lee declared the HomeFair requests for referrals "outrageous." When he called Realtor.com for an explanation, he was told that no referrals for other agents would take place.

According to Lee, there are more problems for the listing agent when the visitor clicks onto the School Report.

"Realtors anywhere have the opportunity to "sponsor" school reports for their area and if they do so their name, links, etc automatically appear on the school report when called up for that particular area," says Lee. "Fortunately no one is sponsoring my city right now but they could any day."

"Realtor.com has just stuck those links in there without giving much thought to how they would affect us and our business," says Lee. "They still need to be removed, and at best, reworked before putting them back live. Let the links that offer a "qualilfied real estate professional" return back to the listing agent that put the FREE listing there for Realtor.com to draw their millions of monthly page views from."

Another real estate professional has other concerns. "The main thing that concerns me is that Realtors don't realize what is going on. The big issue is everyone was afraid of referrals and referral fees. There was a banner ad for Virtual Relocation on Realtor.com and it was removed. What they do instead is a little more subtle. It is redirection of the lead."

The agent, who asked to remain anonymous, points out that according to a Homestore press release, 180,000 leads are redirected to HomeBuilder.com.

"Where do those leads come from?" asks the agent."We had a sales guy from Homebuilder visit our office who said that all the Homestore sites drive traffic to all the other sites. Realtor.com is for residential and Homebuilder is for new construction. If you are looking on Realtor.com for new homes, you will be directed to Homebuilder, not a Realtor.com agent."

The agent is also concerned about the Norwest Mortgage button on every single search page. "It reduces the number of people who make it to the agent."

"Start on Realtor.com and drill down and count how many buttons and links you see. There are so many opportunities for the visitor to get redirected that they never make it back to the listing agent," says the agent.

"I understand that they want to make money," says the agent."But by steering visitors away from me when I gave them the listing in the first place?"

The insult added to injury in the eyes of some agents is that not only is the visitor not directed back to the listing agent who supplied the listing to the MLS and to Realtor.com, but in order to be referred to his/her own listing, the agent must pay a fee. Even if that fee is paid, the HomeFair link, as well as other partner links still may direct visitors to other licensees and services.

One agent says, "Suprisingly, Realtors are debating over how many leads individual agents are receiving from sites. The real question is how many leads are you not getting because the qualified consumer has been redirected away before they even have an opportunity to link to you?"

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Published: November 22, 1999

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

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.