HouseValues CEO Ian Morris Addresses Nation's Leading Real Estate Bro

    Business Editors/Real Estate Writers/Internet Writers

    DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2005--The way consumers use the Internet as a research tool many months prior to buying or selling a home has created a "significant and immediate opportunity" for real estate professionals who shift the focus of their marketing efforts from traditional print to online. This was the message presented by HouseValues Inc. (NASDAQ: SOLD) CEO Ian Morris in a keynote speech today at the annual "Gathering of Eagles Leadership Conference" sponsored by Real Trends in Denver.
    Speaking to executives from hundreds of the nation's largest and most successful real estate brokerage companies, Morris noted that 74 percent of consumers now begin their home research online, yet only 10 percent of real estate marketing budgets have followed them there.
    "This presents an immediate opportunity for real estate professionals who take advantage of technology to capture, cultivate and convert prospective customers into clients," Morris said. "Consumers are doing research many months in advance of choosing a real estate agent, and then typically take just 1-3 days to choose their agent. Leading real estate professionals need to be first, fast and frequent in their marketing efforts in order to be the agent Internet consumers ultimately choose," he said.
    Morris shared findings from a just-released report by Hebert Research, which revealed that sellers take on average 9.3 months from the time they begin researching until they sell. It takes buyers 16.7 months, on average, to research and buy their next home. With new Internet-based marketing tools, real estate professionals are able to build relationships with prospects months in advance of when real estate agents traditionally have done their marketing.
    Earlier this year, HouseValues introduced the BrokerSelect Network for leading real estate brokerages, an innovative program that provides exclusive leads from prospective buyers and sellers, and a comprehensive set of lead management tools, enabling brokers and their agents to build long-term, profitable relationships with their customers.
    Morris, who holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, has been a leader in the real estate industry for more than eight years and was named "One of the Real Estate Industry's Most Influential People" by the National Association of Realtors' Realtor(R) Magazine. He was the recipient of the "Inman Innovator of the Year" award in 2004 by Inman News, and was also named to the Puget Sound Business Journal's list of "40 People Under 40" to watch last year.

    About HouseValues Inc.

    HouseValues, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOLD, http://www.housevaluesinc.com) provides innovative marketing services that enable residential real estate professionals to capture and cultivate leads, and convert these leads into closed transactions. HouseValues' integrated offering provides real estate professionals with consumer requests generated from its HouseValues.com and JustListed.com Web sites, together with its online prospect management system and personalized coaching and training to help them grow their business.
    SOLD: CORPORATE

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CONTACT: Media Only: For HouseValues Inc. Hugh Siler, (949) 646-6966 Hugh@SilerPR.com

KEYWORD: COLORADO INDUSTRY KEYWORD: REAL ESTATE BUILDING/CONSTRUCTION ADVERTISING/MARKETING INTERNET E-COMMERCE SOURCE: HouseValues Inc.

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