RISMEDIA, June 26, 2007?Realogy Corporation announced the official launch of its
OpenHouse.com Web site featuring information on thousands of open houses
held by its CENTURY 21(r), Coldwell Banker(r), ERA(r) and Sotheby’s
International Realty(r) affiliates, as well as those featured by Company-owned brokerages operated by Realogy’s subsidiary, NRT Incorporated.
OpenHouse.com offers home sellers greater exposure for their open house listings and is also expected to benefit Realogy’s broker and sales associate networks of 315,000 members as they service approximately 650,000 residential real estate listings across the country at any given time.
According to the company, the site easily allows home buyers the following options for future open house events:
1.) See schedules for open houses hosted by multiple brokerages in their area of interest
2.) Print out a route planner with complete maps and directions
3.) Request more information or schedule a private showing
4.) Sign up for e-mail alerts
Both home buyers and sellers benefit greatly from the site’s content as sellers get more free exposure for their listings, while buyers get a useful tool for managing their home search experience.
“Open houses are simply ‘Real Estate 101,'” said Realogy Vice President Ben Phillips, managing director of OpenHouse.com. “Open houses can attract many potential buyers in a short amount of time and they give buyers a good sense of the market. Our site leverages the Internet to elevate this valuable marketing tactic for our brands’ affiliates and their customers.”
Since its conversion from a pilot phase this spring, the number of open house listings posted to the site have jumped from several hundred to over 20,000 on a typical weekend. The number of subscribers to its e-mail alert system has also grown significantly, climbing 80% in the past two months. Site visits have increased 25% since January, though a consumer-facing marketing campaign is not scheduled until later in the year.
The site consistently ranks among the top organic search results for “open houses” on the leading search engines.
“OpenHouse.com is a part of our larger listings distribution and Internet marketing strategy,” said Alex Perriello, president and CEO of the Realogy Franchise Group. “The site provides valuable information directly to the online consumer that is based on their specific wants and needs, all while driving incremental leads and Web traffic to our affiliated brand networks as a result of direct consumer information requests.”
In the months ahead, the OpenHouse.com management team will look to enhance functionality on the site with a focus on Web 2.0 technologies that tap into search and social book marking, rich media interfaces, user-generated content and social networking technologies. The team will also look to identify and consider appropriate alliances with content providers with the intent of expanding OpenHouse.com’s depth and coverage of U.S. real estate markets.
“In a competitive market, brokerage firms need to take every measure to maximize service levels to their clients while leveraging the Internet as a tool to increase business potential,” said Phillips. “Our site is a perfect complement to a high-tech, high-touch approach to providing comprehensive real estate services.”
For more information, visit www.realogy.com.
