As potential home buyers approach the busiest and most demanding home shopping season of the year, realtor.com® marks 17 years of arming consumers with resources they can trust
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 3, 2013 — Realtor.com®, the leader in online real estate operated by Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE), is celebrating 17 years of helping people find their dream home. Since 1996, realtor.com® has grown active users by more than 20 million, brought an industry-leading mobile app to market and cultivated relationships with more than 800 Multiple Listing Services (MLSs), more than any other real estate website. Through these connections, realtor.com® provides the most accurate and comprehensive data in the industry, enabling consumers to search 98 percent of all for-sale properties listed in the U.S.
With homes selling as quickly as 14 days in the hottest markets, access to accurate and timely data is critical to finding the right home, rather than wasting time chasing properties that are no longer for sale. Approximately 90 percent of listings on realtor.com’s mobile apps and website are updated every 15 minutes, with the remaining listings updated daily. Realtor.com® uses the 15-minute window to scrub data and ensure that new listings are represented, duplicates removed and pending and sold properties updated.
"Since realtor.com® has direct connections to more than 800 MLSs, updates the majority of their data within a 15 minute timeframe, and does not include listings from sources known for poor data hygiene, it is nearly impossible for anyone else to beat them on a national level," said Victor Lund, partner of the WAV Group, a leading consulting firm for the real estate industry. "WAV Group has been monitoring online accuracy, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of third-party listing websites since 2008. We have specifically monitored the top sites to understand if consumers were getting access to the highest quality of listing information."
Home buyers are taking their search on the go. In the fourth quarter of 2012, realtor.com® saw 90 percent year-over-year growth in for sale properties viewed on mobile devices. Direct mobile price alerts enable potential home buyers to stay ahead of the competition with the most reliable information available. Users can also search for nearby open houses with the GPS feature, create custom searches in specified regions and save searches and listings. Realtor.com’s comprehensive, timely and accurate data coupled with cutting-edge mobile features provides home buyers with the tools necessary to find a property to call home, even in today’s accelerating market.
"With markets tightening and the housing sector starting to rebound, the search for the perfect home is highly competitive. Everyone is looking for that right-priced home with the big backyard within walking distance of their favorite local haunts," said realtor.com® President Errol Samuelson. "Capitalizing on real-time updates from our mobile app, our home buyers can find their dream home 15 minutes after it hits the market. With homes in some markets selling in weeks or even days, consumers run the risk of seeing "active listings" on competitor sites that have already sold. That spells heartache for buyers. With realtor.com®, users can rest assured the home they’re viewing is available and submit an offer while other home buyers might still be unaware the home is even for sale."
In the fourth quarter of 2012, each visitor to the realtor.com® website viewed the site approximately four times per month, more than 50 percent more than its next closest competitors. In addition, approximately 95 percent of realtor.com’s web traffic in the fourth quarter of 2012 focused on properties for sale, and visitors spent nearly one billion minutes on the site. According to a report from comScore, in February 2013 website visitors to realtor.com® spent an average of 33.4 minutes each – more than each of its next closest competitors. In the fourth quarter of 2012, realtor.com® also saw 90 percent growth year-over-year in properties for sale viewed on mobile devices.
About realtor.com®
Operated by Move, Inc., (NASDAQ: MOVE), realtor.com® helps connect people with the content, tools and expertise they need to find their perfect home. As the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, realtor.com® empowers consumers to make the smartest decisions when it comes to finding a home by leveraging direct connections with more than 800 MLSs to deliver the most accurate and up-to-date listing information in neighborhoods across the country, and by making timely and meaningful connections between consumers and REALTORS®. Whether through desktop, mobile, or tablet version versions, realtor.com® is where home happens.
About Move, Inc.
Move, Inc. (MOVE) the leader in online real estate and operator of realtor.com®, the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®; Move.com, a leading destination for new homes and rental listings, moving, home and garden, and home finance; ListHub™, the leading syndicator of real estate listings; Moving.com™; SeniorHousingNet; SocialBios; TigerLead®; and TOP PRODUCER® Systems. Move, Inc. is based in San Jose, Calif.