LendingTree, Inc. Acquires iNest
CHARLOTTE, NC-November 10, 2004 – LendingTree, Inc.®, the leading online lending and real estate exchange, today announced that it has acquired iNest® (www.iNest.com), the leading new-home builder referral network that specializes in serving builders and buyers of newly-constructed homes. The services and functionality of iNest will be integrated with RealEstate.com, an operating business of LendingTree. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
iNest, which was founded in the Chicago area in 1997, focuses exclusively on the market for newly-constructed homes. Through its patented Featured Builder program, iNest brings buyers and builders together by providing a unique directory of more than 500 Featured Builders and 8,387 new home communities in 20 top home-building states. To date, the company has facilitated more than $1.8 billion in sales contracts.
iNest has created more than 500 marketing micro-sites for the builders featured on its Web site, creating a robust information center that makes it easy for homebuyers to search for new home communities and view information about home styles and floor plans prior to visiting a builder sales office. Consumers who purchase a home from one of the company’s featured builders are able to use iNest’s cash-back coupon to receive a one percent rebate on the base price of the home.
iNest will remain an independent brand, but over time, its offerings will be integrated into RealEstate.com.
“iNest brings with it an outstanding network of new-home builders and lets us begin serving an important segment of the market,” said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree, Inc. “iNest creates significant value for its network of builders, and adding its suite of services and content to RealEstate.com is an important step forward as we develop the Internet’s premier destination for real estate. We look forward to further growing our relationships with our builder partners, significantly increasing their transactions and revenue as we continue to expand RealEstate.com.”
Andy Wolf, iNest founder and chief executive officer, said, “iNest’s mission continues to be providing builders and buyers of newly-constructed homes with unsurpassed value in the marketplace. Builders are focused on ways to realize incremental homebuyer traffic, and integrating into RealEstate.com, with its extended customer acquisition channels, allows iNest the ability to drive even more incremental traffic to its homebuilding partners.”
About LendingTree, Inc.
Founded in 1996, LendingTree is an online exchange that connects consumers with lenders and REALTORS®. LendingTree has facilitated nearly $87.7 billion in closed loan and real estate transactions since its inception, serving more than 13.5 million consumers. LendingTree is an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), which also owns and operates RealEstate.com, Domania, GetSmart.com, and ServiceMagic.
About iNest
iNest, based in Chicago’s western suburbs, is the leading new-home builder referral network, specializing in serving builders and buyers of newly-constructed homes. Through its patented Featured Builder program, iNest provides consumers with unsurpassed value throughout their search for and purchase of newly-constructed homes. iNest provides this value to consumers by combining information resources available on its site about its partner homebuilders, its network of field agents, its experienced New Home Specialists that are available seven days a week, and a one percent rebate to consumers who utilize the iNest Web site and program when making their new home purchase.
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.