Happenings: Industry News Bulletins

Acquisitions & Affiliations

Sotheby?s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. announced that Street Realty Company LLC, which serves areas in and around Columbus, Ohio, and was established in 1969, has joined the Sotheby?s International Realty network. Its business name will change to Street Sotheby?s International Realty.

First American Residential Group, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies, announced that it has acquired privately held Sonic Eagle, Inc., a California-based provider of enterprise broker and real estate agent productivity technology. Terms of the transaction, which closed May 23, 2006, were not

disclosed.

Personnel Notes

NRT announced the promotion of Rick Toma to the role of senior vice president for preferred services. This expansion of Toma’s most recent role as vice president for preferred services focuses on transaction-related services?including mortgage, title and warranty?as part of a full-service real estate experience.

Real Living announced the promotion of Robert McAdams Jr. to chief financial officer. In his new position, he will be responsible for the company?s finance, facilities and procurement functions. He will also lead the firm’s strategic growth, overseeing mergers and acquisitions.

The First American Corporation announced that Mary Lee Widener has been elected to serve as the newest member of its board of directors. Widener, who has served as president and chief executive officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of America (NHSA) in Oakland, California, since 1976, assumed her new responsibilities on May 18.

Donna August has been appointed vice president of marketing for Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate. A senior marketing professional, August joins the firm with over eight years of experience in all aspects of residential real estate marketing.

The Real Estate Services Division of Cendant Corporation announced the appointment of Richard W. Davidson as president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates, Inc.

Barbara Goodman was named senior vice president of title services at Weichert Financial Services. In this newly created position, Goodman will oversee title operations in New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. She joined the company in August 1996 and has been with the Pennsylvania operation of Weichert Closing Services for the past 10 years.

Casey Cram was named director of marketing and advertising of John L. Scott Real Estate. Cram comes to John L. Scott with more than 13 years experience in marketing communications, advertising and corporate branding, most recently with Leviton Voice and Data where she was responsible for the creative direction and advertising production of a multimillion-dollar manufacturer.

Fidelity National Information Services (FNIS), Inc. announced that Marty Frame has joined its leadership team as chief information officer, Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions. In his new role, Frame is directly responsible for emerging opportunities. He will spearhead new initiatives that further leverage the company?s enterprise-wide integration of resources.

Karen Mayfield has been named president of The Home Loan Group, a Chase affiliate and subsidiary of Prudential California Realty. The Home Loan Group?s mortgage officers work closely with Prudential real estate agents to provide Northern California home buyers a wide range of mortgage options.

Trulia.com, a residential real estate search engine, announced the addition of key players to its management team during the first half of 2006. The newest addition to the executive team is Jamie Glenn, a long-term driver of real estate and classifieds product strategy at Yahoo!, who will be assuming responsibility as vice president of product management at Trulia. Glenn joins Kelly Roark, vice president of industry development.

Cendant?s Real Estate Franchise Group announced the appointment of Ken Herron as vice president, interactive strategies. In this role, Herron will be responsible for the strategic oversight of the Real Estate Franchise Group?s brand Web sites including Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA, and Sotheby?s International Realty.

New Products/Services

Chase has launched Premier Builder, a program designed to make mortgage financing easier for qualified consumers buying homes from Premier Homebuilders. Borrowers also benefit from extended rate-lock terms of up to 24 months, including a market rate float-down option within 60 days of closing.

Long & Foster Companies launched its new public Web site, www.longandfoster.com. With the latest in technological innovations, the new site supports the business needs of agents while delivering the highest-quality homeownership services to

consumers.

a la mode launched Broker XSites, a Web site solution designed specifically for real estate brokers. Broker XSites are a cost-effective solution for real estate brokerages of any size, but specifically target the needs of small- to mid-size brokers.

Real Living announced the launch of its enhanced open-house locator tool for its listings. The customer-friendly enhancement allows buyers to access more information than ever about open houses in a new format.

ProspectsPLUS! introduced a new recipe postcard series in large response to the requests of their customers and fan base.

Network Communications, Inc. (NCI), a publisher and provider of printed and online real estate information and advertising in North America, announced the acquisition of Apartment Community Guide, a multifamily publication and locator service serving the Brevard County, Florida, area (communities include: Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville, Merritt Island, Cape Canaveral). The acquired Apartment Community Guide will merge into the Apartment Finder magazine brand, which currently serves more than 98 markets across the United States.

Adigida Solutions announced the availability to the real estate community of HomeHub iSafeSM, a free home inventory management program designed to provide homeowners with ?peace of mind? before the hurricane season, which began June 1.

VISION Relocation Group launched an enhanced version of its proprietary technology application. VISION has been utilizing a single-entry, workflow system, for its U.S. domestic relocation information management, which was recently recognized by Computer World Magazine. The company recently integrated a global assignment management application into the system. This enhanced version of the technology, called espTM, provides VISION?s clients with a tool for managing their relocations and international assignments on a global basis.

Joint Ventures

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World has partnered with Blogging Systems, a real estate blog solutions company.

HouseValues Inc. announced that it has partnered with Ellie Mae to provide comprehensive online lead generation and lead management services to Ellie Mae?s network of 130,000 mortgage broker customers.

Advanced Access announced that it has completed a final agreement with the Indiana Association of Realtors (IAR). The Affinity Marketing Agreement designates Advanced Access as the ?endorsed provider of Web site services? to more than 18,558 IAR members statewide.

Real Living announced that all of its listings are now available on Propsmart.com and Oodle.com. The company?s Florida and Texas listings can also be accessed on Trulia.com. Listings from additional markets will be added to Trulia.com as the San Francisco-based residential real estate search engine expands into new markets.

First American Residential Group, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies, announced a new alliance with Lucero Research Corporation, a provider of real estate office management software systems. This marketing agreement between two service providers establishes First American as the first national software partner to integrate with Lucero Summit’s software. The companies will begin the integration during the second quarter of 2006.

Awards & Accomplishments

Dave Liniger, RE/MAX International co-founder and chairman of the board, was presented the ?Jack Vickers Award? by the Southeast Business Partnership (SEBP) in ceremonies May 19. The recognition honors a lifetime of service to the southeast metro business community.

Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors has been awarded the North American Performance Award for Group Support Move, which recognizes the outstanding performance and client focus in customer satisfaction services provided, responsiveness and support in the Prudential Relocation Network. The company also received the 2005 Regional Performance Award in Destination Services, which was given to the firm for recognition of outstanding performance in conversion rate results, customer satisfaction, responsiveness, support and performance improvement.

ERA Shields Real Estate was honored for its outstanding performance during 2005 at the 2006 Cendant Mobility Broker Network International Conference held in April.

The documentary entitled ?First Step Into Space: The Story of the Pre-Astronauts,? produced by RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN), has received the Platinum ?Best in Show? award from the Aurora Film and Video organization. It is the story of aviation legend Col. Joe Kittinger’s historic 1960 flight to the outer reaches of earth?s atmosphere.

Barbara Springer, vice president of relocation and business development for Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate, accepted the Quality Excellence Award from SIRVA Relocation, a well-established leader in the relocation industry. The Quality Excellence Award was presented to Koenig & Strey GMAC Real Estate for providing the highest level of transferee satisfaction nationwide in 2005 based on completed transferee surveys.

For the second consecutive year, Prudential Gary Greene, Realtors? Bethany Burghoff has been named to the company?s President?s Circle. The honor ranks her in the top eight percent of all real estate sales professionals in the company?s nationwide organization, Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc.

Openings/Expansion

SKY Sotheby?s International Realty announced that the company has opened a new location in Osprey, Florida, and will open a new location this summer in Longboat Key, Florida. The Osprey facility opened the week of May 8. The main headquarters will remain in downtown Sarasota.

Franchising rights for RE/MAX offices in Romania have been purchased by two associates currently based in Canada. Adrian Sischin, a native of Romania, along with Gabriel Bianchi, a 20-year, award-winning veteran of the real estate industry, are the new co-region owners of RE/MAX Romania. Both are affiliated with RE/MAX Premier in Toronto where Bianchi is the broker/owner. They will temporarily operate from Canada with plans to relocate the regional operations to Romania later this year. Sischin will serve as regional director for the new company. In related news, franchising for RE/MAX in Hungary will begin soon as the region has been purchased by Bal?zs Posta and Bence Kesthely, who will serve as co-region owners and regional directors.

Alain Pinel Realtors is expanding its presence in San Mateo County, California, by adding office space at both of its locations to accommodate growth in sales personnel. In San Mateo, the real estate services firm renewed its lease with Westlake Development Group, LLC and nearly doubled its office space.

Oakwood?s newest luxury temporary living accommodations recently opened in Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to America’s most prodigious universities such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Name Changes

Cendant Settlement Services Group, a subsidiary of the Real Estate Services Division of Cendant Corporation, announced that it will begin operating under a new name Title Resource Group (TRG) effective immediately.

Cendant Mobility, a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation, announced that it has officially changed its name to Cartus. The new name is derived from ?carte? or ?charta,? suggesting the art and technique of making maps (cartography) to plan or delineate one?s future.

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