National online real estate destination, which features over 3.5 million properties and serves over 130 newspaper partners, uses mobile platform to make house hunting easier CHICAGO, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- HomeFinder.com (http://homefinder.com/), which connects home buyers, sellers and real estate professionals locally and nationally, today announced the launch of "Open Houses," the first iPhone application dedicated to helping homebuyers find open houses and connect with a qualified local REALTOR®. The application, which is free, can be downloaded from the iPhone App Store as of today. "Open Houses" will run on both the iPhone and iPod Touch. HomeFinder.com has a significant number of open house listings, as a result of its partnerships with 130+ local newspapers across the country, uniquely positioning it as the indispensable source for consumers planning a day of house hunting. The Open Houses app will be marketed aggressively to active home buyers. The Open Houses app features: -- One click access to open houses around a user's location through the iPhone's native location-aware technology, plus search filtering to pinpoint the areas, price range and property types a user wants -- Easy access to contacting selling agents via email or phone about a specific property from within the application -- Integrated mapping and point-to-point driving directions through Google Maps, which allows a user to plan and navigate their tour -- The ability to save properties, view photos/detailed floor plans and browse HomeFinder.com's listing database of over 3.5M homes for sale "The mobile platform is a perfect match for house hunting, which requires leaving the desk to go out and tour houses," said Tim Fagan, HomeFinder.com's CEO. "With the Open Houses app, consumers can now find - and get to - open houses from wherever they happen to be, without printing directions, property flyers or taking time to view homes that do not match their criteria." The Open Houses app is a continuation of HomeFinder.com's efforts to deliver unique experiences that meet real consumer needs -- in real time. In 2007, HomeFinder.com launched a mobile version of its robust search site, with the on the go consumer in mind. In developing the Open Houses app, the goal was to not only benefit mobile home shoppers by making the entire open house process more efficient, but also to facilitate a sales process and deliver qualified property contacts to its customer base of over 20,000 real estate agent, broker and builder advertisers. Concludes Fagan, "Mobile applications are best when they focus on one thing very well. Home buyers will always want to tour homes, and sellers and their agents will always want to be found. Our Open Houses app makes that happen without the clutter that plagues so many mobile real estate applications." About HomeFinder.com HomeFinder.com is one of the most trusted Web sites for consumers to search for a home and connect with a real estate professional. Distinguished by its inventory of comprehensive property listings and rich content, HomeFinder.com provides more than 3.5 million listings with customized searches and multiple options to view and manage results. HomeFinder.com also provides simpler, more valuable online advertising solutions for agents, brokers and builders, combining the brand power of more than 130 local newspaper Web sites with exposure on a national scope, in a platform that tracks every phone call, email and click a consumer makes. Owned jointly by three leading media companies, Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Co. (NYSE:MNI) and Tribune Co., the HomeFinder.com Network includes The Arizona Republic, Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times and The Indianapolis Star. For more information, visit http://www.homefinder.com/. DATASOURCE: HomeFinder.com CONTACT: Czarina Carden of HomeFinder.com, +1-312-601-5527, Web Site: http://www.homefinder.com/

Copyright