Emeryville, CA, May 8, 2014– Inman News®, the leader in independent real estate and technology news, announced the first 18 companies that will participate in Startup Alley at Real Estate Connect® San Francisco, July 16-18. More companies will be announced in the coming weeks.

Real Estate Connect is the industry's leading event and is known for successfully launching real estate companies. Through Startup Alley, a sponsorship opportunity available to the hottest new companies to enter real estate tech, startups are able to showcase their technology to over 2,000 of the sharpest minds in the industry.

"Real estate and technology are inseparable, and the companies featured in Startup Alley are creating exciting, innovative solutions that could change the future of the industry," said David Stein, President and General Manager, Inman News. "If you're serious about impacting the real estate space and want to be seen by industry leaders and decision makers, there's no better place to make it happen than Startup Alley."

Companies featured in Startup Alley will include:

• Balcony - Balcony is a social referral network for licensed real estate agents. Agents use Balcony to connect with each other, so they can make, accept and track referrals. We handle all the paperwork, and pay commissions within 48 hours of the close of the referral transaction. We make referrals happen.

• East-West Property Advisors - East-West Property Advisors connects US real estate agents with Asian buyers. The company, based in Hong Kong (China), provides a one-stop service and tailored advice to assist Asian property buyers who are planning to purchase US real estate for investment, for a home when attending American universities or for immigration.

• Fast Forward Stories - Fast Forward Stories provides affordable real estate content to reach the on-demand digital customer. The service delivers hundreds of brand-ready "explainer videos" clarifying key real estate concepts for homebuyers and sellers on websites, social networks and mobile apps. They offer video libraries, languages, branding and technology options ranging from local brokerages to large national enterprises.

• Haute Residence - Designed as an exclusive membership circle, Haute Residence connects luxury readers and Haute Living's affluent audience with design and real estate professionals deemed to be the best in their specific regions, offering homebuyers the opportunity to choose professionals in their area who can help locate and decorate their dream homes.

• HomeKeepr - HomeKeepr is an app for homeowners that delivers "agent-branded" home maintenance reminders directly to their iPhones. Upload your favorite local home service providers and we'll include them in the reminders, simplifying property maintenance for new homeowners. Be valuable to your clients long after a closing with HomeKeepr.

• House Actually - House Actually is social listing search. We're building the most accurate predictor of a home's value, by crowd-sourcing price estimates. We're also creating a space for hyper- local conversations between neighbors, agents, buyers and sellers. Check out our early product at www.houseactually.com.

• Househappy - Househappy is a free, photo-driven real estate search portal for buyers, sellers and brokers to connect, search and post properties around the world.

• HouseRentals.com - HouseRentals.com is a single family rental marketplace dedicated to helping renters find their next home. Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, HouseRentals.com strives to make the painful process of searching for houses for rent easier. Focusing on single-family homes, HouseRentals.com allows agents, property managers, and owners direct access to a target audience nationwide.

• Matterport - Matterport provides an easy solution to capture and experience properties in photo-realistic 3D. More immersive than stills, panoramas, photo galleries, and videos, Matterport's 3D Media Platform engages buyers while giving sellers the confidence they need knowing that their home will be marketed using the latest technology.

• Proffer - "Find a Property. Name Your Price!"™ with Proffer! Proffer is a fast and easy way to begin every real estate communication. Visitors tell agents in advance, the kind of budget and terms they need using our patented non-binding 'proffers'. Proffer provides valuable customer information before time consuming walkthroughs are made.

• ReferralExchange - ReferralExchange's REALTOR® Referral Network enables you to take advantage of every lead you get. We match your clients with 3 great agents, handle all paperwork/tracking, and pay you a 25% referral fee. Now you can maximize your advertising ROI with our invite-only network of 12,000 agents, innovative technology and premiere service.

• Rental Roost - Rentalroost.com is a transaction-oriented community marketplace for renters and landlords. We aim to match renters with the perfect home for their lifestyle and needs using proprietary predictive analytics. GrayRoost is a new technology-focused, customer-centric real estate brokerage that focuses on making the home buying and selling process faster, easier, and transparent.

• Secure Show - The need for a solution like Secure Show® has never been greater. Secure Show® helps ensure the safety of real estate professionals and landlords using a simple and patent-pending identity verification process. Avoid becoming a "crime-by-appointment" — know who you're going to meet before you meet them face-to-face.

• Sindeo - Introducing Sindeo, a modern Mortgage Advisor. We're creating a transparent, high-tech mortgage experience paired with stellar service. We work with borrowers to understand their goals, find the right loan and close at blazing speeds. Borrowers get a hassle-free mortgage. Realtors get a dependable partner. Everyone gets peace of mind.

• Social for Real Estate - Social for Real Estate provides done-for-you social media content for Realtors®. From expert tips to custom images, blog articles and social topics, you have a robust choice of over 100 content pieces every month. You simply copy, paste and post to your own social media networks! Simple, fast and effective!

• Updater - Updater helps relocating individuals and families update all accounts and subscriptions, connect utilities, forward postal mail, and more – all from one online dashboard. Updater brands its technology for brokerage firms and agents, enabling them to save their clients hours of time, generate referrals and stay top of mind after closing.

• WikiRealty - WikiRealty connects consumers and all professionals who share real estate knowledge. Many sites provide data and algorithms, but none offer searchable insights connected to properties and neighborhoods. By connecting the dots at the local and neighborhood level, WikiRealty empowers you to make smarter decisions about where to live and work.

• Zumper - Zumper.com is a new destination site for apartment rentals, bringing real-time search to renters without the spam. ZumperPro is next-generation mobile software for landlords and agents enabling them, for the first time ever, to market listings directly at the property.

Real Estate Connect San Francisco will take place at the Hilton Union Square from July 16-18, 2014. The best and the brightest in real estate and technology are expected to attend. For more information on how to launch your startup at Real Estate Connect or other sponsorship/exhibitor opportunities, please contact [email protected]. For information on how to receive a press pass, please contact [email protected].

About Inman News

Inman News is the leading source of independent real estate news, information, advice, research, technology, opinion and commentary for industry professionals and consumers alike. Inman's award winning, unbiased and hard-hitting stories are known throughout the real estate industry. Agents and brokers globally trust Inman News as their first source of accurate, innovative and timely daily real estate news. For more information, visit www.inman.com.