New Online Real Estate Question and Answer Feature on Realtor.com

Ask A REALTOR Gives San Francisco Bay Area Sellers, Buyers Direct One-Click Access to Realtors With Answers On Local Real Estate


LOS ANGELES, Sept. 1  /PRNewswire/ -- Ask a Realtor, a new online question and answer feature recently launched by Realtor.com, offers homeowners, sellers and buyers answers to real estate questions from San Francisco Bay Area Realtors who know and understand the local market.  This free online feature is now available on the Realtor.com Blogs homepage at http://www.realtor.com/blogs.

Through Ask a Realtor, visitors to the Realtor.com Blogs site can now ask questions free-of-charge and anonymously that will be answered only by licensed real estate professionals.  Questions can be on any real estate-related topic ranging from local market trends, mortgages and home values to buying, selling, home inspections and more.  Questions will be forwarded to a local Realtor or to one that specializes in the area of expertise most relevant to each question.  Most participating Realtors in the Ask a Realtor program are active members of the Realtor.com Blogs community.  Answers are emailed directly to the consumer by a Realtor.com moderator, and some are posted on the homepage of Realtor.com Blogs for everyone to read and enjoy.

In addition, all questions and answers are archived on the Realtor.com Blogs site, listed chronologically and by subject, for future reference in an easily accessible knowledgebase so other visitors can benefit from the professional expertise.  While questions can be posed anonymously, visitors to the blogs can also request a personal follow-up by the responding Realtor, thereby establishing a relationship with a local real estate professional at any stage in the decision-making process.

"Ask a Realtor creates an informal yet highly informative, free service for anyone interested in or involved in real estate," said Realtor.com President Errol Samuelson.  "Because homeownership is often one of the biggest investments consumers make in their lives, Ask a Realtor was developed to help people navigate real estate, establish relationships with local Realtors, and as a convenient method to ask questions that'll be answered by licensed professionals with hands-on experience in the local market. We look forward to helping millions of people become better informed as they engage with real experts offering real estate answers through Ask a Realtor."

Samuelson continues by explaining that Realtor.com's approach differs from comparable online sites in which anyone can attempt to answer a real estate question.  "By design, the answers published on Ask a Realtor will come only from active members of the National Association of REALTORS , professionals with real estate expertise adhering to a strict code of ethics and conduct," said Samuelson.  "That combination of local knowledge and professionalism sets Ask a Realtor apart."

Typically, Realtors have approximately 10 years of professional real estate experience, while brokers have 25 years of professional real estate experience.(1)

Ask a Realtor also provides an additional solution for Realtors to showcase their skills and market their brands on both the local and national levels to buyers and sellers that don't already have a relationship with a Realtor.

Danville, California native and San Francisco Bay Area Realtor, Kevin R. Kieffer says, "Ask a Realtor is a great way for anyone to ask questions about our real estate market and to connect with a Realtor that has local experience and connections.  I'm excited to participate, and help people who might be contemplating a move or just curious about San Francisco Bay Area real estate or housing trends."

ABOUT REALTOR.COM

Realtor.com , where the world shops for real estate online, is operated by Move, Inc., (NASDAQ:MOVE) and is the official Web site of the National Association of REALTORS .  Ranked as the #1 homes-for-sale site, Realtor.com  currently offers potential home buyers access to over four million property listings, as well as the most brokers and agents.  It also provides REALTORS  and the home sellers they represent with the Internet's largest real estate marketplace, reaching more than 8.3 million(1) consumers in June 2009. Agents and companies have the power to customize Realtor.com  resources to maximize their brand and productivity.

REALTOR  and Realtor.com  are registered trademarks of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS . REALTOR  is a federally registered collective membership mark, which identifies a real estate professional who is a Member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS  and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.  All other trademarks appearing above are the property of Move, Inc., or of their other respective owners.

  [1] 2009 NAR Member Profile
  [2] comScore Media Metrix, July 2009



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DATASOURCE: Realtor.com



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