Yahoo! Real Estate and RealtyTrac Team Up to Launch New Foreclosure Resource Center

RealtyTrac announced Wednesday that it has partnered to power a newly-redesigned Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center (see http://realestate.yahoo.com/Foreclosures). The new center integrates three key functions: the ability to search for foreclosures; analysis of trends in the foreclosure market; and education about buying properties in foreclosure.

The new Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center is luanching in the midst of a slowing real estate market, in which foreclosures are increasing and concern over the stability of the subprime lending market is at a level rarely seen.

“The redesigned Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center incorporates some of the most advanced tools and analytical features from RealtyTrac, and is a major leap forward in providing millions of consumers who access Yahoo! Real Estate with data on foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “We believe that Yahoo! now offers the most complete set of foreclosure information and resources of any real estate portal, and will serve the needs of home buyers looking for foreclosure and bank-owned properties.”

Along with real-time access to RealtyTrac’s database, the Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center will incorporate graphs depicting recent foreclosure activity, foreclosure sales and profitability information for each state and for the nation as a whole. It will house regularly refreshed news and feature articles about the foreclosure market, as well as a comprehensive guide to buying properties in foreclosure.

“At Yahoo! Real Estate our goal is to present consumers with information they need throughout every stage of the home buying process. Foreclosures offer a tremendous savings opportunity, yet for the average home buyer remains an area where access to information is limited,” said Michael Yang, general manager, Yahoo! Real Estate. “Our enhanced Foreclosures Center can help educate and prepare consumers to consider foreclosures as a purchasing option.”

“We believe the current market presents a unique opportunity for any buyer looking for a bargain,” Saccacio said. “In the past, foreclosure data was only available to an elite set of investors who happened to have the right connections or were willing to sift through stacks of public records often located in the recesses of local government offices. Our mission at RealtyTrac is to make foreclosure data conveniently accessible to everyone, and the new and improved Yahoo! Real Estate Foreclosure Center will help to accomplish that mission.”

For more information about RealtyTrac, visit http://www.realtytrac.com.