West USA Selects Realtor.com to Reach Arizona Home Buyers and Sellers

West USA Selects Realtor.com to Reach Arizona Home Buyers and Sellers

    Business Editors/Real Estate Writers

    PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2005--

Top Arizona Real Estate Brokerage and No. 1 Online Real Estate Company Align to Leverage Popularity of Internet as a Home Buying and Selling Tool
    West USA, Arizona's largest real estate brokerage firm, has greatly expanded its presence on Realtor.com, the No. 1 online real estate listings site. Beginning next week, all West USA offices will have enhanced online property listings, sign riders, and Featured Company(TM) advertising on Realtor.com, ensuring that information about their brand and their services is fully accessible to Arizona and California home buyers and sellers. Phoenix is one of the country's hottest real estate markets, with visitors to Realtor.com viewing local properties 25 million times each month(1).
    "With recent studies showing that nearly 75 percent of all home buyers use the Internet during the home buying process(2), this alliance will help fuel West USA's aggressive growth plans in 2005," said Nathan Gill, regional president for Homestore, operator of Realtor.com. "Increasing its visibility on Realtor.com will help West USA expose its brand and services to the largest online audience of home buyers and sellers."
    According to Kevin Nell, vice president of franchise operations for West USA, "We're very focused on increasing market share by better servicing the online consumer. By enhancing our company's presence on the No. 1 real estate Web site, West USA hopes to gain access to the millions of consumers visiting Realtor.com each month."
    On March 30, 2005, Realtor.com will unveil the anticipated benefits of this relationship at West USA's annual convention in Phoenix.

    ABOUT REALTOR.COM

    Realtor.com, "Where the world shops for real estate online(TM)", is the official Web site of the National Association of Realtors. Ranked as the No. 1 homes-for-sale site, Realtor.com currently offers potential home buyers more than two million Realtor-listed homes for sale as well as the most brokers and agents to contact. The site also provides Realtors with the Internet's largest real estate marketplace to reach more than six million consumers each month(3). By using Realtor.com, agents and companies have the power to customize the resources of the Realtor.com Web site to maximize their brand and productivity. The Realtor.com Web site is operated by Homestore, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOMS).

    REALTOR(R) is a federally registered collective membership mark, which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. REALTOR.com(R) is a registered trademark of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R). Other trademarks mentioned above are the property of their respective owners.

    (1) Realtor.com internal reports. Monthly average from 2004 for Maricopa County.

    (2) 2004 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

    (3) comScore Media Metrix, June 2004

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CONTACT: Amendola Communications for Homestore, Inc. Jan Shulman, 480-664-8412 jshulman@acmarketingpr.com Jodi Amendola, 480-664-8412 jamendola@acmarketingpr.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA ARIZONA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: REAL ESTATE BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION SOURCE: Homestore, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005