The HomeNet Responds to Consumer Demand; Upsets MLS
Applecart
September 15, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Just on the tails of a major announcement by Remax, new company
The HomeNet marks a victory for consumers, and the first serious
blow to current real estate MLS systems, by releasing the first
generation of what is being called a “Central Distribution
Database,” along with the first truly comprehensive property
search tool – meaning that users can easily find real
estate available whether it’s listed with an agent, for
sale by owner, new construction, a foreclosure, or a rental.
“More
and more people have been asking for someone to consolidate
all ‘for sale’ real estate online on a large scale,”
said Michael Poythress, 22-year-old President of The HomeNet.
“We’re doing that. But we’re also taking it
one step further – we’re distributing that consolidated
list back out to all the contributors so they can show it on
their sites, too.”
The
Alabama-based company has begun working directly with real estate
professionals to collect basic, searchable information about
properties for sale, which it is compiling and making available
to the contributors for display on their websites. Brokers can
market their properties through The HomeNet without giving up
nearly what they do to most local MLS boards – such as
detailed property information, currently a matter of hot contention
between the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association
of Realtors.
Consumers
and professionals may search the database from any of the growing
number of participant websites, or at www.theHomeNet.com, using
general criteria such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms,
price and address. When they find a property of interest, clicking
that property will take them directly to the property contributor’s
website for more detailed information.
Distribution
of this massive amount of content to so many websites is being
handled by a brand new, proprietary technology created by The
HomeNet for this use, which has been in development for over
a year and a half. The result is a sort of “syndicated
database” that works similarly to the way XML distributes
text content for blogs and news sites. Instead of basic text
content, however, The HomeNet’s technology puts a searchable
database on the contributors’ websites (even if the site
owner has no programming or database skills whatsoever), which
can be customized to look exactly like the rest of the site.
The technology is also extremely secure, and will not allow
access to the data from any unauthorized websites.
The
HomeNet has been successfully implemented with a small number
of test affiliates, and the tool is being made available now,
even in its early stage of development, as the company begins
working in earnest to establish more contributor/participant
relationships.
Consumers
will love the consolidation of all properties into one list,
because they’ll be able to easily find any property. Real
estate companies and professionals will love it for the same
reason, but also because they can now reach groups of buyers
online that they never could before - with their services AND
their properties.
--30--
The
HomeNet is an Alabama-based real estate search company. Using
cutting edge, proprietary technology, The HomeNet distributes
a collective database of available properties out to affiliates
for display on their websites. While Remax has announced plans
to have a similar product complete in 6 months, The HomeNet
has been working on it for over 18 months, and is proud to deliver
a system that is fully operational now.
