bhgrealestate.com Features Home Listings and Consumer-Friendly Web 2.0 Tools that Make the Process of Buying and Selling Homes More Rewarding
July 23, 2008 // Franchising.com // SAN FRANCISCO — Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate–an international real estate brand inspired by America's largest home enthusiast magazine brand–officially launches today with the unveiling of its online consumer destination at www.bhgrealestate.com and a press conference being held by company president and CEO, Sherry A. Chris.
"The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Web site was designed to help make the online real estate experience a more rewarding one for homebuyers and sellers," said Chris. "Beginning with our brand name and our unique relationship with the Better Homes and Gardens magazine brand and its array of consumer marketing resources, we are committed to the delivery of exceptional residential real estate services to our customers."
The new Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate consumer Web site will launch with more than 300,000 property listings initially and expand rapidly to support parent company Realogy Corporation's online listings distribution strategy. Site visitors can access vital information on neighborhoods, housing trends, local market conditions, sales activity and recent sale prices – in short, everything to help in the buying and selling of real estate. Additionally, the site will be integrated with www.bhg.com, the interactive companion to Better Homes and Gardens magazine, to increase exposure to consumers already interested in homes and home buying.
"This is the natural progression for one of the world's preeminent names in home enthusiast brands," said Gayle Butler, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. "Like us, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is deeply committed to the concept of owning and improving the home – much the same way we approach designing and creating content for Better Homes and Gardens magazine."
On www.bhgrealestate.com, visitors will also have access to a regularly updated blog, videos, and articles on topics ranging from living green and kitchen remodeling to mortgages, negotiating advice, and home buying checklists, all created to provide inspirational ideas for the home. Visitors will be able to look at specific information on different schools, including enrollment and staffing, as well as comparative neighborhood information such as characteristics and demographics.
Operating under a direct franchise business model, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is also announcing today the opening of its first brokerage in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Wilkins & Associates. To find out more, visit
http://www.bhgrealestate.com/Views/MediaCenter/Default.aspx. Internationally, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC will expand by building a network of quality master franchisors through the efforts of a special, international membership development team.
The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate press conference will take place today at 8:30 a.m. PDT / 11:30 a.m. EDT at The Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, and online at http://tinyurl.com/65lo82. Chris, along with Butler, will discuss the launch of the new residential real estate brand, which, under Realogy Corporation, will help deliver a new level of innovation to the way consumers buy and sell their homes.
In October 2007, Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services, announced it had entered into a long-term agreement to license the brand from Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), the publisher of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The licensing agreement between Realogy and Meredith is for a 50-year term, with a renewal option for another 50 years.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC is the diamond-level sponsor of Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2008, taking place July 23-25, 2008, at The Palace Hotel,
San Francisco. Visit the company at booth #102 or follow 'BHGrealestate' on Twitter.com.
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate is an international real estate brand that offers a full range of services to brokers, sales associates and home buyers and sellers. Using innovative technology, sophisticated business systems and the broad appeal of a national lifestyle brand, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate embodies the future of the real estate industry while remaining grounded in the tradition of home. For more information, please visit www.bhgrealestate.com.
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate LLC is a dynamic real estate brand that offers a full range of services to brokers, sales associates and home buyers and sellers.