Realtor.com Expands Local Expert to Cities

Agents and brokers can now augment their branding with city searches on the site

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 29, 2019 -- Consumers who search for homes on realtor.com® by city may now see branded content and listings from Local Expert agents, teams and brokers in their search results and then again in their social media feeds, thanks to new citywide branding opportunities through realtor.com®'s Local Expert.

With this new release, agents, teams and brokers can elevate their brand to consumers on a citywide level as well as targeting specific zip codes. Real estate professionals can customize ads that showcase their current or sold listings with prominent branding that displays in city and/or zip code searches on realtor.com®. Local Expert also targets these potential buyers on social media with first-party data exclusive to realtor.com®.

Local Expert Agent Listing Ad

Local Expert Broker Branding Ad

The city version of Local Expert is available in approximately 25,000 cities across the U.S.

"We're excited to expand our successful Local Expert branding program to the city level for brokers, teams and agents, and the initial response has been very positive," said Deepak Thakral, realtor.com® senior vice president, product management. "It's just one more example of how realtor.com® is helping real estate professionals compete in a rapidly changing marketplace."

Since its initial launch in November 2018, Local Expert has helped thousands of agents and teams build their brand awareness with customized, branded ads in targeted ZIP code searches on realtor.com® and in home shoppers' social media feeds.

According to the 2018 National Association of Realtors®' Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 40 percent of recent home buyers said the most important factors when choosing an agent were the agent's experience, reputation, or knowledge of the neighborhood. Local Expert helps real estate professionals demonstrate their strengths in all of these areas.

Agents, teams and brokers can use Local Expert to expand their visibility and awareness with buyers who are looking for homes in their markets of expertise and amplify their marketing tactics for their seller clients' properties at the same time.

"Realtor.com® wants to make buying and selling homes easier and more rewarding for consumers, agents and brokers alike," said Thakral. "Whether it's brand building tools like Local Expert, the means to capture, communicate, and connect with leads through solutions like Connections Plus, or our broker concierge service, realtor.com® is anticipating where the market is headed and leveraging those insights to help connect consumers with the real estate professionals who can help them achieve their goals.

To learn more about how real estate professionals are leveraging Local Expert in their own businesses, visit https://industry.realtor.com/branding-and-local-expert.

About realtor.com®

Realtor.com®, The Home of Home Search, offers the most MLS-listed for-sale listings among national real estate portals, and access to information, tools and professional expertise that help people move confidently through every step of their home journey. Through its Opcity platform, realtor.com® uses data science and machine learning to connect consumers with a real estate professional based on their specific buying and selling needs. Realtor.com® pioneered the world of digital real estate 20 years ago, and today is a trusted resource for home buyers, sellers and dreamers by making all things home simple, efficient and enjoyable. Realtor.com® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc. under a perpetual license from the National Association of REALTORS®. For more information, visit realtor.com®.