Move (company)
Move,Inc.
|
| Type |
Public |
| Industry |
Internet services |
| Founded |
1996 |
| Headquarters |
Campbell, California |
| Key people |
Joe F. Hanauer, Chairman
Steve Berkowitz, CEO |
| Products |
Realtor.com, HomeInsight, Top Producer, SeniorHousingNet, ListHub, Moving.com & SocialBio |
| Revenue |
$252.62 Million USD (2005) |
| Net income |
$0.55 Million USD (2005) |
| Employees |
1,000 (2010) |
| Website |
www.move.com |
Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) is a real estate web site, which operates the Move Network of real estate web site for consumers and real estate professionals. The Move Network of websites captures more than 15 million monthly visitors. The headquarters for Move, Inc. is in Campbell, CA. Move, Inc., maintains offices in Scottsdale, AZ, Westlake Village, CA and Vancouver, Canada. The Company is listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the ticker symbol: MOVE.
Products and Services
- Realtor.com - displays home listings from nearly 900 Multiple Listing Services (MLS) across the U.S.
- Move.com - Launched in May 2006,[1] Move.com is a real estate search engine, as well as new home and rental listings.
- TopProducer - is a supplier of media and technology solutions for real estate professionals, local and national advertisers, and providers of home and real estate-related products and services.
- Moving.com - Moving.com offers moving-related services and tools online.
- SeniorHousingNet allows visitors to search for independent and assisted living facilities, nursing homes, retirement communities and other elderly care.
- HomeInsight gives consumers insight into local real estate market conditions.
- Homefair offers consumers resources related to moving including: relocation calculators, quotes, and articles on moving and relocation.
- Socialbios - Converts website's stale "about us" into a socially connected "SocialBio" page that displays registered users' dynamic profiles.
Origin and History
The company began by working with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to host and manage the listings of Realtors nationwide in the mid-1990s.[2] At the time, the company operated as RealSelect, Inc.[3] although the company became better known as Homestore.
- 1999 Homestore went public, and immediately became the #1 real estate site on the Internet,[4] and raised $140 million. NAR retained a significant equity position, but Homestore negotiated agreements with hundreds of Multiple Listing Servicees (MLSs) and brokerages to secure direct feeds of listings and found itself in a head-to-head competition for listings and traffic with Microsoft’s HomeAdvisor.
- November 2005, Elevation Partners, a Bay Area Equity Firm, announced a $100 million investment in Homestore.[5]
- February 2006 Homestore changed its name to Move Inc.[6] to distance itself from the Stuart Wolff controversy and to coincide with an expanded commitment to offering consumers comprehensive real estate listings, decision support tools, and access to qualified move-related service providers.
- October 2009 Move, Inc. entered into a joint venture with Builder Homesite, Inc.[7] The joint venture, Builders Digital Experience (BDX), is dedicated to helping new home builders reach buyers with innovative online marketing solutions by providing the nation’s largest network on new-home web sites and streamlining customer service and support. Through this strategic partnership, BDX operates the Move.com New Homes channel and NewHomeSource.com.
- September 2010 Move acquired online real estate listing syndicator ListHub.[8]
- December 2010 Move launched an online mortgage offering called MortgageMatch.com[9] targeting first time home buyers and those looking to refinance.
- July 2011 Move acquired SocialBios[10]
Criticism and controversy
Much of the past criticisms of the company centered on the actions of the management team during the rise of the dot-com bubble. In particular, the founder and former CEO, Stuart Wolff, was convicted of insider trading and falsifying the company books.[11] Wolff's conviction was overturned on appeal in 2008.[12]
W. Mike Long (American Businessman), former CEO of Healtheon Corp. and chairman of WebMD Inc. after its merger with Healtheon took over as CEO on January 7, 2002. He was joined by two other former Healtheon and WebMD executives: Jack D. Dennison, chief operating officer, and Lewis R. Belote III, chief financial officer. Joe F. Hanauer, former head of Coldwell Banker’s Residential Group, was named chairman of Homestore’s board of directors.
See also
References
- ^ "Move.com Launched on Tuesday". maxsell.net. May 5, 2006. http://maxsell.net/movecom-launched-on-tuesday/. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ "Realtors' On-Line Venture Gets Capital for Restructuring Effort". Wall Street Journal. November 13, 1996. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB847846831424684500.html?mod=googlewsj. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Why REALTOR.com Matters to REALTORS". National Association of Realtors. http://www.realtor.org/realtororg.nsf/pages/Rcominfo2?OpenDocument. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Leading Online Home and Real Estate Network Fuels Momentum With Record Revenues and Site Traffic" (Press release). Move, Inc.. May 3, 2000. http://www1.move.com/Company/PressArchives/PressRelease.asp?pr=20000503a. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ "Move". Elevation Partners. http://www.elevation.com/EP_port_item.asp?id=2. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Homestore, Inc. to Change Name to Move, Inc." (Press release). Move, Inc.. February 22, 2006. http://investor.move.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=488129. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ "Move and Builder Homesite Join Forces and Resources to Connect Builders with Buyers" (Press release). PRNewsWire. October 14, 2009. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/move-inc-and-builder-homesite-inc-launch-builders-digital-experience-new-home-marketing-venture-64287822.html. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ "Move Acquires Online Real Estate Listing Syndicator ListHub For $13 Million". TechCrunch. September 21, 2010. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/21/move-threewide-listhub/. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ "Mortgage Match Targets First-time Homebuyers". UPI. http://www.upi.com/Real-Estate/2010/12/01/Mortgage-Match-Targets-First-time-Homebuyers/9811291222331/. Retrieved 2011-02-10.
- ^ "Move acquires SocialBios". InmanNews. July 18, 2011. http://www.inman.com/news/2011/07/18/move-acquires-socialbios. Retrieved 2011-08-04.
- ^ Palmeri, Chris (July 6, 2006). "How Stuart Wolff Got Himself Caught In A Trap". BusinessWeek. http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2006/07/how_stuart_wolf.html. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ Egelko, Bob (January 15, 2008). "Homestore CEO's fraud conviction overturned". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/15/BUDSUF57V.DTL&feed=rss.business. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
External links