Realty Times has learned that two divisions of HomeAdvisor Technologies, Inc. HomeAdvisor.com and Realty Desktop, will be integrated into MSN effective immediately. Meanwhile Microsoft is working with its HomeAdvisor equity partners to undertake a sale of the third division - the mortgage technology business - to a strategic buyer, say company spokespersons.

Microsoft plans to redouble its efforts to work with its real estate industry partners, say spokespersons, and is fully committed to the real estate industry.

The company is planning initiatives that will bring more consumers to its site, which gets three times less traffic than Homestore, which operates a network of five homebuying Web sites, its nearest competitor, according to Media Metrix. Yet for the second time this year, HomeAdvisor was voted the best home buying site, beating Homestore in the latest issue of Yahoo! Internet Life.

The company has numerous technology tools for consumers and real estate professionals, but so far has not charged real estate professionals any fees for posting their listings.

HomeAdvisor will post listings free of charge from brokers and agents, and link back to the agent's Web sites. Spokespersons believe that HomeAdvisor's efforts toward capitalizing on what they do best, generate leads for agents, will pay off in increased traffic and agent participation on the site.

Published: February 16, 2001

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