Airbnb Profitability Analysis Generated Major Media Coverage for National Real Estate Brand

NORFOLK, VA (Oct. 18, 2018) – Homes.com announced today that it has been named the winner in the Best Use of Search – Real Estate & Property category in the 2018 U.S. Search Awards, with its fun, informative and visually compelling campaign on Airbnb rentals. In partnership with agency, Go Fish Digital, the initiative centered on US cities where homeowners can get the best return on their home investment by renting with Airbnb. It generated nearly 50 print and TV media placements ranging from Forbes to Fox and ABC News, associated backlinks, almost 500 article shares, and more than 5,000 visits to the supporting post on the Homes.com blog.

The campaign titled “The Best and Worst Cities for Making Money on Airbnb,” leveraged an analysis of Airbnb rental prices and average mortgage costs based on Homes.com partner data in major metropolitan areas. Simple, easy-to-understand infographics highlighted the 20 cities with the lowest and highest daily rental rates, the lowest and highest daily profit considering local mortgage costs, and the number of Airbnb rental days required to cover average mortgage expenses in each market.

The project provided an innovative and entertaining way to reach potential homebuyers who are considering buying a second home as an investment as well as existing homeowners researching Airbnb profitability, with the secondary goal of raising brand awareness for Homes.com. The U.S. Search Awards celebrate expertise, talent, and achievements of the search industry, so this recognition reflects the high marks it received through the judging criteria, including clear objectives, creative and effective implementation, and tangible and demonstrable results.

“Our content marketing program is designed to build brand visibility, traffic, and links to our site, and the Airbnb campaign aligned perfectly with those goals,” said Grant Simmons, VP Search Marketing, Homes.com. “It performed extremely well with the quantity and quality of media coverage, the number of links to Homes.com and social shares, so receiving this award is a great testament to the collaborative spirit & creativity of the Homes.com team and our agency partners.”

The 2018 U.S. Search Awards celebrate SEO, PPC and content marketing, attracting hundreds of entries from the leading search and digital agencies as well as notable brands in North America and across the globe who deliver work for the U.S. market. Entries are judged by a panel of industry leaders and experts in a rigorous two-stage process that includes pre-scoring to determine shortlists and judging meetings where entries are discussed and evaluated in detail to decide winners.

The complete list of 2018 U.S. Search Awards winners is at www.ussearchawards.com.

About Homes.com

Homes.com offers today’s demanding homebuyers, renters and those somewhere in between a simply smarter home search. With features like Homes.com Match, HomeShare and Snap & Search, homeshoppers now have a more personalized and conversational way to search for their next home. Since its launch over 25 years ago, Homes.com offers real estate professionals brand and property advertising, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation to help them succeed online. For more information, visit Homes.com.

Search by Photo, Specify ‘Must Have’ versus ‘Nice to Have,’ Descriptive Headlines Created by AI and More on a Completely New Site

NORFOLK, VA (May 10, 2018) – Today, Homes.com launched a completely new website with a series of industry-first features that make the online home search process smarter, faster, more personalized, more shareable, and easier to organize than any other national real estate search site. The new consumer-facing features as well as real estate pro-specific enhancements are expected to create more opportunities for real estate professionals to connect with in-market consumers. This commitment strengthens the company’s policy of always sending consumer inquiries to the listing agent whether or not they are preferred advertisers.

Reimagined from the ground up in partnership with digital agency Grow, the new Homes.com site delivers a truly differentiated and more engaging search experience through unique features that include:

• The first national visual search tool for homebuyers – Homes.com Snap & Search BETA  enables shoppers to upload photos of homes whose looks they like, and utilizes artificial intelligence to return local listings with a similar architectural style or exterior finish. Using machine learning algorithms, the site will analyze hundreds of millions of property images to provide matches for the end user.
• Personalized ‘Match’ scores for every search result – Homes.com Match uniquely asks users their “must have” and “nice to have” amenities along with their other preferences like desired schools, then prominently displays a “Match” score (e.g. 92%) for each home in their results based on those parameters. Best matches are listed first to help users narrow the search quickly.
  
• Descriptive listing headlines that help sell – Instead of displaying search results by address-only headings, Homes.com automatically generates a programmatic headline highlighting the standout features of each listing.  Titles like “Lovingly Maintained 3 Bedroom House in Red Mill” make it easy for consumers to zero in on homes of interest while also providing enhanced marketing for the listing agent.
• Flexible price searches – The new site returns search results that include homes “around” the user’s specified price, broadening buyer options as well as assisting real estate pros by ensuring their listings priced slightly above or below the target price are not missed.
• Fewer clicks to see house details – With just one click from the search results pages, users can see a complete image gallery for each listing, Google street and satellite views, as well as the “Match” score. They can also save favorite listings without leaving the search results. It’s a faster and simpler way to separate the “maybes” from the “nos.”
• Better sharing and organization of the search journey – The site’s robust new HomeShare function lets users save favorite listings, create different share lists, and collaboratively discuss homes of interest with partners, parents, friends or agents – all with visual thumbnails instead of links that require extra steps to identify each property.

“We’ve spent many months reimagining home search from the ground up to make it smarter, faster and easier for home shoppers to find their dream home, while also making sure agents and brokers have the opportunity to connect with consumers more frequently,” said David Mele, President of Homes.com. “The new site introduces many first-to-market features for the industry and is a game changer for consumers searching for their next home.”  

The site also continues to incorporate features that benefit the industry, including clear identification of the listing agent and broker on the listing details page. A new advertising option called Homes.com City Sponsor will unobtrusively integrate prominently placed ads for pros and their listings on the  search results page. These ads mirror the look of the non-sponsored listings and help combat banner blindness that prevents consumers from noticing banner ads because of their prevalence. Learn more about the new, Homes.com City Sponsor and other advertising opportunities on Homes.com.

About Homes.com

Homes.com offers today’s demanding homebuyers, renters and those somewhere in between a simply smarter home search.  With features like Homes.com Match, HomeShare and Snap & Search, homeshoppers now have a more personalized and conversational way to search for their next home.  Since its launch over 25 years ago, Homes.com offers real estate professionals brand and property advertising, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation to help them succeed online.  For more information, visit Homes.com.

About Grow

Grow is a Virginia-based digital agency that works with some of the world’s most pioneering brands, including Google, Spotify, NBC, adidas, Oxygen Network and Adult Swim. They create digital experiences, products and interactive installations that are unique, engaging and results-focused for their clients. Notable recent projects include Window Wonderland for Google Shopping, Madden GIFERATOR for EA Sports, as part of Google’s Art, Copy & Code initiative, as well as The Pursuit, an interactive, crime thriller game created with Oxygen Media.

Johnson joins “Secrets of Top Selling Agents LIVE”  2018 tour

Norfolk, Va. (Feb. 13, 2018) – Thousands of real estate agents throughout the U.S. will learn how to take their business to the next level as Homes.com®, a top consumer real estate resource and leading provider of marketing solutions for real estate professionals, has announced a partnership with Sherri Johnson. One of the real estate industry’s most sought-after speakers, Johnson will be a featured speaker on select “Secrets of Top Selling Agents LIVE” events coast to coast.

“Sherri Johnson is the premier leader in real estate agent success coaching and consulting systems,” said Erin Ruane, vice president of sales and marketing for Homes.com. “Sherri offers unique insights gained through 20 years of hands-on experience both as a top-producing agent (among the top 2% of 1,700 agents and top 5% nationally) and as a top executive for Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, the third-largest, privately-owned brokerage in the U.S., managing over 700 agents and $1.6 billion in annual sales volume.  She has recruited, trained and coached thousands of new and experienced agents, and her creative and proven strategies have consistently helped them double or triple their annual sales and incomes.”  she added.

“I am extremely honored to partner with Homes.com to dramatically increase agents’ sales skills, confidence, and opportunities through my value driven sales systems” said Johnson. She further states, “My passion is to empower and inspire every agent by providing easy-to-implement, lead-converting strategies that will generate immediate results in listings, sales, and income, accelerating both current and long-term growth.”

Prior to her successful real estate career, Sherri was also a management consultant and motivational speaker, providing strategic business management and sales and marketing development to organizations for greater capacity and success. She is both formally trained in and passionate about organizational development and leadership, and she has the intuitive ability to connect with people and magnetically form relationships built on integrity, trust and confidence. Her enthusiasm is contagious!

Homes.com sponsored thirteen “Secrets of Top Selling Agents LIVE” events last year located around the country, filling all venues to capacity. The 2018 Secrets LIVE tour has been expanded to fifteen markets and will hit some of the top markets across the country, including Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, Washington D.C. area, Dallas, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and other markets to be announced soon. Homes.com will offer complimentary tickets to agents on a first-come, first-served basis, and it expects all events to sell out.  One-on-one coaching from Sherri Johnson normally runs tens of thousands of dollars a year, so getting to spend three hours with her for free is an incredible opportunity for new and seasoned agents alike.

In addition to hosting “Secrets of Top Selling Agents LIVE”, Johnson is scheduled to appear at the Homes.com booth at RE/MAX R4 and is a University Speaker at the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Sales Convention in March in San Antonio, TX.  Sherri and her team are providing one-on-one coaching, live events, keynote speaking and management consulting for national brokerages across the country.

Real estate agents may know the “Secrets of Top Selling Agents” brand from its popular online educational real estate webinars. Homes.com has been a sponsor of this educational series since 2006, with appearances by some of the most successful people in the industry.  Many of the speakers are published authors of popular real estate books, or are creators of educational programs and credentials that have become industry standards. These free webinars are available online at secretswebinars.com.

About Homes.com

Homes.com is a top real estate search destination, visited by more than 14 million consumers each month. Homes.com leverages search visibility to connect this in-market audience with real estate professionals in their local areas of interest. Homes.com offers the following real estate marketing and media services: brand advertising, property listing branding and exposure, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation to help real estate agents and other real estate related partners succeed online. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.

About Sherri Johnson

Sherri is the premier, national speaker offering world-class real estate keynote speaking, consulting and coaching while delivering accelerated results. No other coach matches her distinguished 25 years of experience as a top agent and executive of a Top-3 national, independent brokerage. She has recruited, trained and coached thousands of agents and was responsible for leading over 700 real estate agents and over $1.6 billion in annual sales volume. Sherri’s relevant, real-life, and proven strategies coupled with her high energy produce immediate results and can triple your income regardless of current production. Learn more about Sherri at www.sherrijohnson.com, or contact yourock@sherrijohnson.com.

Exclusive partnership brings Apartment List’s multi-family expertise to Homes.com’s platform

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 26, 2017 – Apartment List, the fastest growing rental marketplace, today announced a partnership with Homes.com, the leading online real estate destination and provider of real estate marketing solutions, to be the exclusive supplier of U.S. multi-family rental community listings* to Homes.com. The partnership combines Homes.com’s audience and reach with Apartment List’s best-in- class user experience and platform.

According to U.S. Census data, homeownership rates have plummeted since the 2008 recession. Apartment Lists’ recent Rentonomics report shows that more people are renting due to high homeownership costs and a lack of savings: 72 percent of millennial renters who would like to buy a home cite affordability as their biggest obstacle. In addition, generational tastes among millennials gravitate towards the flexibility that renting provides.

“There has been a surprising lack of innovation to connect renters and properties, with many people relying on decades-old technology” said John Kobs, CEO and co-founder of Apartment List. “We’re thrilled to partner with Homes.com to deliver our powerful search tools and streamlined userexperience to their users. Together, we’re making it easier and more accessible for millions of people to rent homes, with a wider array of listings than ever before.”

“Homes.com is excited to partner with Apartment List to offer consumers searching for their next home a best-in- class rental search experience,” said David Mele, president of Homes.com. “This strategic collaboration offers added exposure and will drive more qualified consumers to Apartment List rental communities.”

Unlike other apartment search providers, Apartment List is focused on the renter and property owner, and has helped over 100,000 families find their home since 2014. The company offers the only pure play transaction-based marketplace for long-term rentals.

* Multi-family rental communities of more than 100 units located within the U.S.

About Apartment List
Apartment List is the fastest-growing online apartment rental marketplace on a mission to make finding a home an easy and delightful process. The company currently has over three million units on the platform and has reached more than 66 million users in over 40 cities since launch. Since inception, Apartment has raised nearly $60M in funding from investors including Caanan Partners, Matrix Partners and Passport Capital. Apartment List launched in September 2011 and was founded by CEO John Kobs and COO Chris Erickson. The company has been named one of Forbes' "Top 25 Most Promising Companies" and one of Inc.'s "Fastest Growing Private Companies in the U.S.” Learn more at www.apartmentlist.com.

About Homes.com
Homes.com is a leading provider of real estate marketing and media services, including brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation. Homes.com Connect offers the real estate industry’s first-ever all-inclusive marketing platform for agents and brokers featuring single-login convenience. Homes.com is visited by over 14 million consumers each month to search nearly four million properties for sale or rent, to locate real estate agents in their area, and to find useful home buying tips. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.

Contact
Katie Warmuth
SutherlandGold for Apartment List
pr@apartmentlist.com

Patty McNease
Homes.com
patty@homes.com

Book details success stories and tips from Dave Liniger, Gary Keller, Barbara Corcoran, and other real estate titans.

NORFOLK, Va. (September 12, 2017) – Homes.com has released its first book, “Secrets of Top Selling Agents: The Keys To Real Estate Success Revealed” by Joe Sesso. Based on the highly acclaimed Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar series, the book is a compilation of the best anecdotes, tips and tricks from top selling real estate agents and trendsetting industry experts over 10 years and 100 webinar episodes.

In this groundbreaking book, Sesso has gathered game-changing tips from some of the biggest names in the real estate industry, including Dave Liniger, Gary Keller, Barbara Corcoran, Leigh Brown, and Chris Smith. “Secrets of Top Selling Agents” covers everything from how to start and build your own real estate company, to how to shoot compelling real estate videos and generate leads from social media.

“It takes hard work, guts, innovation and determination to be the best in your local market. The stories I’ve compiled in ‘Secrets’ illustrate how some of the giants in the industry have done just that. There is no doubt that if you follow the systems outlined in the book, you will see an impact on your business,” said Joe Sesso, author and director of sales at Homes.com.

Some of the highlights from the book include:

• Why Dave Liniger was forced to rethink his life and change his perspective on the business after a devastating illness
• How Gary Keller and Jay Papasan focus on “the one thing” to achieve success
• How Barbara Corcoran turned her real estate business into an international brand
• Tips from Katie Lance on leveraging social media to bring the real estate industry into the 21st century
• 12 steps from Chris Smith on how to increase your GCI by 50 percent
• How Jay Baer’s concept of “youtility” can make your business more useful  
• Jimmy Mackin’s advice on multitasking and reaching the elusive “Inbox Zero”
• How other successful real estate professionals have adapted to today’s challenges

“The ‘Secrets’ book offers invaluable information to help both new and seasoned real estate professionals increase their sales and become a preeminent resource in the local communities they serve,” said David Mele, president of Homes.com.  “Through the long-running Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar series, Secrets Live events, Secrets podcasts, and now our new book, Homes.com is committed to providing the industry with the best educational resources on trending topics.”

In offering advance praise for ‘Secrets,’ Victor Lund, partner at the WAV Group, said, “A keynote of their [agents and industry leaders profiled in the book] success is hard work and dedication to becoming better than everyone else. This book delivers insights from our industry’s top king-makers who have created the most success for others. It’s written for winners by winners!”

The book is available for purchase at SecretsofTopSellingAgentsBook.com in paperback.  For more information on the Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar series, visit SecretsWebinars.com.

About Homes.com

Homes.com is a leading provider of real estate marketing and media services, including brand advertising, property listing exposure and syndication, search engine marketing and instant response lead generation. Homes.com Connect offers the real estate industry’s first-ever all-inclusive marketing platform for agents and brokers featuring single-login convenience. Homes.com is visited by more than 14 million consumers each month to search nearly four million properties for sale or rent, to locate real estate agents in their area, and to find useful home buying tips. For more information, visit www.Homes.com.

About Joe Sesso

As a national speaker for Homes.com and other major real estate search sites, Joe Sesso has spoken to more than 35,000 real estate professionals in 49 states about the secrets to real estate success. His unique background makes him an expert on sales techniques.

Sesso began in the industry as a real estate investor and invented a unique foreclosure system that helped him accumulate a multimillion dollar personal portfolio. During that time, he authored The Foreclosure Revolution, which predicted the American housing crisis in the late 2000s. Sesso is currently the national speaker and sales director for Homes.com.

Sesso is a member of the National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International, and has been a REALTOR® for seventeen years. Sesso received his bachelor’s degree and MBA from Indiana University and his master’s degree in global management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.