Zillow.com Expands Its Free National Listings.(Managing REO)

Byline: Amilda Dymi

Seattle-High foreclosure rates and the rapid overall growth of the real estate-owned property market are fueling the expansion of online real estate broker communities such as Zillow.com, a provider of free national housing information to homeowners, buyers, sellers, real estate agents and mortgage professionals.

The newest Zillow partner is Weichert Realtors of Morris Plains, N.J., whose 40,000 listings nationwide will be automatically posted to the Zillow Listings Feed program on a regular basis.

To date, Zillow said, its website contains over 3.2 million listings. Weichert joins hundreds of new Zillow.com partners since its creation in 2006, including the recent addition of the Houston Association of Realtors.

HAR alone has expanded the Zillow database with over 70,000 listings in the Greater Houston area, as well as links to HAR.com. The HAR-Zillow partnership enables HAR's Houston MLS to automatically feed all for-sale listings to Zillow.com. At the same time, it provides free marketing for the listings of 26,000 HAR members, which is the second-largest local association of Realtors in the country.

A Zillow spokesperson told MSN the company expects to finalize additional partnerships and is in conversation "with multiple MLS and brokerages."

Upon the announcement, Weichert Lead Network president Michael Montsko said the partnership is in line with Weichert's effort to maximize marketing exposure to its associates and listings.