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Metro Brokers to unveil features-laden Web site

John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News

Published January 8, 2007 at midnight

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Metro Brokers Inc. today is launching its new Web site, , which will allow consumers to search for virtually every home listed by a Realtor in the Denver area.

In addition to providing free access to "98.5 percent-plus" of all the listings in Metrolist, the database organization owned by local -Realtor groups, it eventually will include all the homes from the 22 MLS organizations spread throughout Colorado, said Mark Eibner, chairman of Metro Brokers IT Committee.

Other future features will include public information about real estate, so people can use their computers to see the sale prices of homes. Metro Brokers, founded in Denver almost 30 years ago, is based in the Inverness Business Park in Arapahoe County. Its logo is a stop sign, hence the name ColoradoHomeStop.com.

The site will be user-friendly and feature an enhanced Google Maps link, photos and slide shows of homes, and a variety of search features, Eibner said.

"Everything on this site is designed with the consumer in mind, not the real estate professional," Eibner said.

He said Metro Brokers has committed "multimillions of dollars" to the site.

Eibner is unveiling the site at the Inman Real Estate Connect Conference in New York City. He's launching it there to "create a lot of buzz," he said. For example, Zillow.com - a real estate valuation site - was unveiled at an Inman conference last year and quickly became a household name, he said.

Much like retail sites such as Amazon.com or Apple's I-store, consumers looking for homes on the site eventually will be prompted by a message that will say something like: "If you like this house, you might also like these houses."

He said it will be easier to navigate than competing sites offered by real estate companies and brokers.

"There's nothing new about searching for a home on the Internet," Eibner said. "But there is a technology war going on in real estate. We believe ours will be the best out there, by far."

Jack Farrar, spokesman for RE/MAX International, said that its Web site, , has more listings on it than any other company's Web site. , owned by the National Association of Realtors, is the only database with more listings, he said.

Eibner said Metro Brokers is seeking to launch its site in every state, with the state name appearing before Homestop.com.

Site features

• Property details

• Realtor profiles

• Enhanced maps

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