HomeAdvisor Technologies, Inc.'s recent announcement that it was being reabsorbed into Microsoft's MSN network and putting its loan division up for sale to refocus on its core consumer and agent services divisions took some industry watchers by surprise. With such an unfavorable climate for IPOs, and its core agent/broker offering still in beta testing and far from demonstrating profitability to a tech-phobic investor crowd, Homeadvisor's chances of successfully going public were slim, despite a $100 million cheerleading investment squad. But the company is far from down and out. According to spokespersons, very little will change in the near future as Homeadvisor retools itself, including zero layoffs. But when changes do start showing up, you may find the industry leader beating the local portal drum, further distancing itself in look, navigation, and focus from its archrival, Homestore.

MSN

Microsoft's MSN network is leaning toward its old Sidewalk look, with an updated version of its news, entertainment and other things to do in the "mycity" guides. All you have to do is enter your zip code and you can be instantly transported to local entertainment, weather, restaurant reviews, and homes, courtesy of Homeadvisor.

So what will change? You can already reach Homeadvisor's 1 million listings on MSN via its national site, and if you want to go local all you have to do is put in the zip code. Shouldn't that be enough? Not for a company who relies 100 percent on advertising revenues.

Ian Morris, product unit manager for Homeadvisor, says the company has a number of new objectives, one of which is considering a site and tools redesign which will emphasize local markets, a strategy which will also tie in to the company's other core division - products and services for agents. This could represent the first time a national site has tried to go local since MSN sold its Citysearch feature to Ticketmaster a few years ago.

Although no further details were available, the possibilities leap readily to mind. Homeadvisor will still make its lending platform available on Realty Desktop, the client/office management software. If Homeadvisor opens local splash pages to its considerable listings, wouldn't local lenders want to advertise, and be linked to local brokers' listings and platforms? Wouldn't large brokers want to advertise in key spots like they do in the papers? Wouldn't agents with the most enhanced listings get some kind of preferred exhibition of their listings?

So far, none of the listings portals have sold ads to either large franchises, brokers or agents. Instead they offer product sponsorship opportunities, where a large firm can leverage its size to offer products at a discount to its associates. Homeadvisor's plan could turn the Net business model for listings sites back to its roots - in advertising.

If Homeadvisor plans to capitalize on the local listings trend, it will find several competitors which have the exact same thing in mind.

Citysearch

Citysearch, a local entertainment and shopping site, says their traffic was up 80 percent over the previous year. To capitalize on the local real estate search trend, Citysearch has partnered with Network Communications, Inc. (NCI), a real estate and publishing giant with over 500 magazines in circulation including The Real Estate Book(r), New Home Finder(, Unique Homes Magazine(r), Mature Living Choices(r), Apartment Blue Book Finder(r), Apartment Finder(, Corporate Choices.com(tm), The Luxury Real Estate Book( and Commercial and Investment Properties,) as well as private label magazines for over 30 real estate agencies.

eBay

Also planning a local thrust is HomeSeekers on behalf of eBay. Brokers will have the opportunity to purchase preferred local advertising slots when the new real estate section debuts on ebay in April 2001.

Classified Ventures

Homescape.com, the homes portal for Classified Ventures, an Internet classified advertising group founded by leading newspapers across the country, has made local real estate marketing its bread and butter for several years, says Karrie Gottschild, director of brand strategy and communications for Classified Ventures. "Traffic is up, too," says Gottschild, "and moving season hasn't even started yet, and already Apartments.com, one of Classifieds' subsidiaries saw a 30 percent increase in unique visitors this month to 2.4 million unique visitors."

Local marketing makes sense, says Gottschild. "Our affiliates service Realtors on the local level," she explains. "This is an encouraging trend for us. The percentages of consumers moving more than 20 miles away are small, so most people would want to check local resources for information."

Gottschild also points out why localization could become a national trend. "The companies that have partners in the local areas are the ones who are surviving, because building a brand is difficult," she says. "People know and trust news services such as The Chicago Tribune and Washington Post. As a locally -oriented site, we are going to be able to capitalize on years of proven delivery on promises, along with a strong relationship within the community."

Consumers reach Homescape through the local newspaper partners, as well as through search engines. There consumers find rentals and home for sale on the front page, from a variety of online sources including Owners.com, NewHomesDirect.com, and iOwn, among others.

HoustonHomeCenter.com

Competition to Homeadvisor will also come in the form of local sites that begin locally. One new company, HoustonHomeCenter.com has signed agreements with several local television stations who also want to get in on the listings bonanza.

Houstonhomecenter has signed agreements with Click2Houston.com (KPRC—NBC 2), abc13.com (KTRK-ABC13), and KHOU.com (KHOU-CBS11) to be the exclusive home listings, data and home related news provider. Under this agreement, HoustonHomeCenter will receive local distribution and significant television promotional support on the three television stations. In addition, the company will be the premier real estate partner for AOL in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. According to the company, the combined Houston television sites and AOL attracted over 10 million page views in January 2001.

To launch, the Houstonhomecenter.com site is promising a 1.25% rebate to any buyer who has purchased any new home through the company's new home database, and HoustonHomeCenter will contribute .25% to a charity organization, Star of Hope. On a $150,000 new home, the buyer would receive $1,875 back at closing.

When the local market heats up with so many competitive sites, market share becomes more important than ever in getting agents to advertise or buy products and services, which should spark increased demand for tracking services so that agents will know which local partners are most effective lead generators.

Published: February 20, 2001

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