First National Real Estate Firm Saves Consumers Thousands In Commissions

It has become the first and only firm licensed to conduct residential real estate brokerage business in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Unlike recognized names such as Century 21(R), Coldwell Banker(R) and REMax(R), which franchise their names to local real estate firms or individuals who operate independently, homebytes is the only company that has obtained all of the licenses required to operate a national residential real estate brokerage business. This allows homebytes to centralize technology, client services and legal operations through three regional call centers staffed by licensed real estate professionals. As a result, homebytes can offer the highest quality of professional service and list its clients' properties on the industry's primary marketing tool, the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), for $499--a fraction of the cost of traditional listing commissions.
Now that homebytes holds all necessary state licenses, it is accelerating its links with local Multiple Listing Services throughout the country. The company currently offers MLS listings in more than 50 major markets, covering 25 percent of all U.S. households. "Homebytes.com expects to cover 80 percent of all U.S. households by October," said David Clark, the company's president and chief executive officer.
"Homebytes.com is creating the means by which millions of people will sell their homes in the future," Clark said. "We give self-directed homesellers an edge in selling their homes by supplying the same tools used by traditional real estate agents, and guiding the consumer through the homeselling process step-by-step. And because we are national in scale, we can do this at a price that saves our clients thousands of dollars in commissions."
Clark noted that approximately 30 percent of all home sellers attempt to sell their homes themselves in an effort to maximize their net proceeds.
"About half of these home sellers eventually sought traditional real estate agents at traditional commission rates, principally because they couldn't otherwise gain MLS access to expose their home to potential buyers," he said. "With homebytes.com, this concern disappears."
With web-based tools, MLS listings, and call centers staffed with licensed real estate professionals, homebytes offers clients everything they need to sell their homes--and save the traditional percentage-based listing commission.
A one-time price of $499 provides clients with password-protected access to their individual, secure homebytes homebase(SM), where they are guided through the process of selling their home. Internet-based tools include:
-- The Homepricing Calculator(SM), which utilizes property information and MLS comparative market data to help the homeowner establish a listing price
-- The Ad-Writing Assistant(SM)
-- The Home Sale Preparation Checklist(SM)
-- The Net Proceeds Calculator(SM)
-- The Virtual Negotiating Table(SM)
-- State-specific documents and forms
Also, yard and lead-in signage is priority delivered in a marketing kit that includes a comparative market analysis, a how-to book, flyer tubes and optional lock boxes.
Following the online trends of stock trading and banking, the $1.3 trillion residential real estate market is the latest industry to experience the Internet revolution. With two years of legal planning, preparation and infrastructure in place, homebytes is redefining how consumers can sell their homes.
"This revolutionary business model and our infrastructure are a result of diligent planning and construction," said Clark. "Prior to homebytes.com, there was a significant market gap between those using traditional listing agents and those who pursued the 'For Sale By Owner' route. "Homebytes bridges these two options by becoming the listing broker for the home seller, providing them with the industry's key marketing and home-selling tools. Additionally, because these customers often would have pursued the 'For Sale By Owner' route, homebytes' listings represent increased MLS inventory for buyers' agents. We're bringing educated and knowledgeable independent home sellers into the traditional real estate fold."
Believing buyers' agents provide their customers with a significant level of knowledge and service during the home-buying process, homebytes recommends that its clients offer a competitive commission for the buyer's broker in their MLS listing.
"The Internet allows homebytes.com to transcend the limitations of bricks and mortar. We reach out nationwide to people who want to take charge of their financial destiny and convert their knowledge and investment into real financial gains," added Clark. "Our service is just a mouse click or telephone call away from every customer, anywhere in the country."