Builder Homesite and LendingTree Enter Distribution Agreement
Austin, TX and Charlotte, NC-February 18, 2004 – Builder Homesite, Inc., the consortium of America’s top home builders, and LendingTree, Inc.®, the leading online lending and realty services exchange, today announced a distribution agreement that will make Builder Homesite’s new construction home listings available on both LendingTree.com and RealEstate.com.
Builder Homesite’s flagship product, NewHomeSource.com, will provide the new-homes-for-sale listings. NewHomeSource.com offers new construction home data in more than 150 markets nationwide representing over 5,000 new home communities.
“Our goal is to provide the most qualified leads for our builders,” said Melissa Morman, chief operating officer of Builder Homesite. “By partnering with leading real estate-oriented sites such as RealEstate.com and LendingTree.com, we maximize our builders’ exposure to serious home buyers, deliver more customers and reduce our builders’ marketing costs.”
“Our agreement with Builder Homesite represents a great addition to our ‘one-stop-shop’ destination for buying, selling and financing homes,” said Tom Reddin, president and chief operating officer of LendingTree. “It also helps us to better serve our network of REALTORS®, because consumers with access to homes-for-sale content will have a better understanding of the selection, pricing, and availability of homes in their area of interest. This in turn translates to a better-educated customer, shorter transaction cycles and increased revenue.”
As part of the agreement, LendingTree will power the home loan center on NewHomeSource.com.
About Builder Homesite, Inc. and NewHomeSource.com
Founded in Austin, TX in 2000 by a consortium of 32 of the nation’s largest homebuilders, Builder Homesite, Inc. (BHI) represents over 250,000 new home sales annually. BHI’s mission is to offer improved technology and marketing solutions for the new home industry. The first product by Builder Homesite is NewHomeSource.com, a consumer Web site offering the most comprehensive information and selection of new homes available on the market. Because of the extensive distribution network, more and more builders are making BHI their entry point to the Internet. By providing data to NewHomeSource.com, builders can also participate in BHI online partner channels, including Yahoo, eBay, CitySearch, Homegain, newspaper and REALTOR® Web sites.
About LendingTree, Inc.
Founded in 1996, LendingTree, an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), is the leading online lending Exchange that connects consumers, Lenders, REALTORS®, and related service providers. The LendingTree Exchange is made up of more than 200 banks, lenders, and brokers (Lenders) and has facilitated nearly $68 billion in closed loans since inception. More than 10 million consumers have accessed the LendingTree Exchange through the Company’s site at www.lendingtree.com and through online and offline partners. Loans available via the LendingTree Exchange include home mortgage, home equity, automobile, personal, debt consolidation, and credit cards. LendingTree is the No. 1 brand in the online lending market for consumers, with 73 percent national awareness. The LendingTree Lend-X technology has been cited as ‘the platform of choice’(a) for online lending and has been adopted by industry leaders to power their online lending initiatives. The LendingTree Realty Services offering connects consumers to a nationwide network of approximately 9,000 REALTORS®. LendingTree’s services and products are specifically designed to empower consumers, Lenders, and related service providers throughout the lending process, delivering convenience, choice, and excellent value.
(a) Resuscitating Mortgage Lending. Forrester Research, March 2001
REALTOR® — A registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.