Online Broker Provides Interactive Decision Making Module

Bloomkey.com, an Internet real estate brokerage providing flat-fee listing and home buying services announced today the beta launch of it's Interactive Decision Making module for home sellers. Given the array of packages and choices for flat-fee home sellers, Bloomkey now provides it's online customers with a decision tree system to assist in selecting and/or creating a flat-fee marketing package for the sale of real estate.

In addition to providing an economical alternative to traditional brokerage, Bloomkey.com is known for giving real estate sellers choices in brokerage services. The Interactive Decision Making module allows customers to answer a few simple questions to find the flat-fee listing package that best meets their needs.

Currently in beta, the module will soon be extended to allow flat-fee home and property sellers to create a customized real estate selling package. The module was developed to simplify the process of selecting a flat-fee package based on the customer's individual needs and budget.

Bloomkey Developes Online Data Entry System for Mutliple MLSs.

Bloomkey today announced the beta-launch of a online data entry system designed to make MLS entry easier for online customers. Bloomkey's system allows users in selected markets to select their MLS system and complete the data fields for their MLS entry based on the selections available for that particular MLS.

One of the difficulities in providing an online data entry form for 'flat-fee' or 'entry-only' brokers, who generally place listings in more than one MLS system, is that the data fields and selections are different for every MLS. Bloomkey has created a data driven system that allows for the rapid entry of MLS fields and selections. By doing so, Bloomkey has streamlined the process for both the customer, who is able to complete a simple online form, and the data entry personnel, who must reenter the customer's data into the appropriate MLS.

Most online flat-fee companies up until now have simply offered customers PDF forms to download, complete by hand and return by fax to the listing broker. A very few offer a static online entry form that attempts to offer the most widely used fields and selections among MLS vendors and associations, but which invariably leaves out important information about a particular property.

Bloomkey's system allows the customer to enter all of the information allowed by the Multiple Listing Service in which they have requested their property be listed. That way none of the important selling features of the home or property are left out. Once completed by the customer, the fields and selections are displayed for the data entry personnel in the exact order in which they must be entered into the MLS, thereby speeding up the process and eliminating the need to hunt back and forth for input fields that can often span over several pages within the MLS data entry system.

Bloomkey Launches Flat Fee Services Marketing Platform for Real Estate Agents and Brokers

Bloomkey today announced the launch of it's beta edition 'flat fee real estate services marketing platform' for real estate brokers and agents. Now, Realtors looking to take part in the fast growing online flat fee services segment of the real estate industry can leverage Bloomkey.com's powerful set of marketing and selling tools and Internet presence to service customers in their market areas.

The proprietary system developed by bloomkey allows real estate agents to create customized flat fee real estate listing and selling packages through an easy to use online platform. Agents will be able to modify and add alternative service and product offerings giving consumers throughout the United States and Canada low cost options to the traditional commission based real estate model.

Company Managing Partner Lawrence Bunnell said, "the role out of an online flat fee marketing platform for real estate agents will help in providing lower cost services to a larger group of consumers during this difficult housing period. More homeowner's will now have low cost access to the broader market when selling their homes which translates into more opportunities and a better chance to sell in the current economic climate."

For more information, visit, Bloomkey.com or call 1-800-974-6657.

BLOOMKEY NOMINATED AS A "GREATER RICHMOND COMPANY TO WATCH"

Richmond, VA –- October 1, 2008 – Bloomkey has been nominated as a 2008 Greater Richmond Company to Watch (GRCTW). The annual event recognizes a select group of innovative companies with high growth potential.

GRCTW winners will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2008 at Toad’s Place in Richmond. The event, hosted by the Venture Forum and Troutman Sanders, along with sponsors LeClairRyan, Williams Mullen, Hirschler Fleischer, First Capital Bank, VACO, Virginia Commercial Finance, and The Help Desk Company, will also feature a presentation, “How Professional Online Networking Will Change the Business World”, by Mike Gamson, VP of Corporate Sales for the online business networking site LinkedIn.

Alumni of GRCTW include: • Snag-a-Job • Arena Racing USA • Getloaded.com • Velocity Micro • Vitalkey • Intelliject • Synergy Systems

Bloomkey.com automates craigslist.org real estate posting

Bloomkey, an online provider of real estate products and services, today launched another innovative enhancement to its online property marketing services. Property owners who list their properties for sale or lease with bloomkey.com now get the added advantage of automated, html coded posting to craigslist.org in the metropolitan area and category of their choice.

Bloomkey announced earlier this year that it had automated the property listing process by allowing sellers to complete their listing agreement and MLS property information online using automated PDF form generation tools. Bloomkey’s proprietary listing process simultaneously generates a customizable property webpage for the owner’s property on bloomkey.com along with multiple photos which is then fed to numerous real estate websites and portals through RSS/XML feeds. And, now with the click of a button, property owner’s can export their property’s information and photo to craigslist.org in the required format for even greater marketing exposure while, at the same time, reducing the amount of time it takes to get information about real estate for sale or lease to market.

Lawrence Bunnell, managing partner of Bloomkey, said, “In today’s real estate market it’s essential that property owner’s have access to the largest possible pool of potential home buyers. An MLS listing, real estate web portal exposure are key ingredients in an overall marketing plan in the current enviornment. With millions of visitors each month, craigslist.org cannot be overlooked as a marketing avenue for real estate. Bloomkey’s innovative approach to marketing property now incorporates automated listing on this increasingly important marketing platform.”

Bloomkey Enters Connecticut Market

Bloomkey announced today that it has entered the Connecticut market. Now home buyers and owners in Connecticut can enjoy significant savings on real estate brokerage products and services with Bloomkey''s flat fee MLS listing and home buyer rebate programs.

Bloomkey offers property buyers, sellers and lessors choices in real estate services by providing an ''a la carte' menu. Customers can choose just the products and services they want for a low, flat fee rather than having to pay for a bundle of services for a high commission rate.

Lawrence Bunnell, Bloomkey's broker said, "We are excited about the opportunity to work with property owners in Connecticut to help them achieve their real estate goals. As a state long dedicated to innovative ideas we expect strong support for Bloomkey.com's services from Connecticut home buyers and sellers."

Now, in Connecticut, there''s a smarter way to buy, lease or sell your home!

Online brokerage firm offers paperless transactions

Bloomkey.com, an online real estate brokerage firm announced several new features today including a 'paperless' listing transaction. Listing customers can now complete their listing transaction entirely online using Bloomkey's automated flat fee MLS listing transaction system. Unlike most traditional and online real estate firms that require users to complete and fax or mail paper forms in order to list their homes and properties into the Multiple Listing Service, Bloomkey's customer can achieve their listing by simply entering their property information online and signing electronically. Bloomkey sellers can now list their homes for sale from the convenience of their desktop. Bloomkey's system also provides the user with a completed listing agreement form in PDF format.

Home Sellers Get Service for Less

Bloomkey was featured in today's Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper in an article about discount real estate brokers offering services for a flat fee or reduced commission. Click here to read more...

Document Delivery System

Today Bloomkey launched a new service for home sellers through its online real estate portal at Bloomkey.com. In addition to photos, podcasts and virtual tours, Bloomkey home sellers can now deliver disclosures, plats, surveys and other documents directly from their Property Webpage at Bloomkey.com.

In it's continuing quest to digitize the real estate transaction, Bloomkey now provides a online method for home sellers to provide real estate agents and home buyers with important documentation about their property. Bloomkey broker Lawrence Bunnell said, "one step that often slows down the real estate contract presentation process is the wait while obtaining necessary disclosures and documentation for a property to be delivered to the buyer. Now, buyers can go online and obtain this information from the seller directly at their convenience."

Just one more way, 'Now, there's a smarter way to buy or sell your home!'

Bloomkey Offers Subscription Service

Bloomkey today announced the launch of it's subscription payment service for home sellers wishing to place their listing into the MLS. Now 'for sale by owner' home sellers can pay on a monthly basis for the marketing exposure of having their property's listing appear the Realtor MLS along with Realtor.com and a wide array of Internet real estate portals including Trulia, PropSmart, Oodle, Vast and more. For about the same cost as classified advertising Bloomkey now provides home sellers with far greater reach in terms of marketing to potential home buyers for a low, monthly fee. Bloomkey Flat Fee MLS subscription service is the first of it's kind in the online flat fee MLS listing arena.

Online Brokerages Maintains Profitability

Bloomkey, an online real estate brokerage firm offering services throughout the United States and parts of Canada, has posted another fiscal year of profitability. In an industry that has seen a number of seemingly well-funded companies fail over the past few years, Bloomkey has found a way to manage expenses while increasing revenues, even in a declining real estate market. Lawrence Bunnell, managing partner of Bloomkey said, "the online real estate brokerage business's time has arrived. As Internet use has become ubiquitous, real estate consumers are rapidly moving away from traditional brokerages with their high, fixed commissions rate structure and towards the efficiency of alternative online brokerages like Bloomkey." By offering choices in services and fees along with technologically advanced solutions, Bloomkey has struck a balance between service and profitability while working within the traditional real estate industry infrastructure. With thousands of successful transactions under its belt, Bloomkey looks forward to continuing to grow, innovate and improve the residential real estate experience for its customers in 2008 and beyond.

Real Estate Widgets

Bloomkey today introduced the additiona of real estate 'widgets' to its host of real estate tools and services for online consumers. Widgets allow bloomkey.com users to download a small desktop application that updates them on new homes for sale postings, property podcasts and real estate news. For more information about this exciting new development in the delivery of real estate information, see our Widget Webpage at www.Bloomkey.com/real_estate_widgets.php

Flat Fee Real Estate Blog

Bloomkey's Flat Fee MLS Real Estate Blog is now in its second year! The blog is designed to give voice to the growing flat fee real estate community while providing consumers with information and tips on selling a home flat fee. With thousands of posts, the Bloomkey blog is one of the most comprehensive flat fee real estate blogs on the Internet today.

Online Real Estate Store

Bloomkey has several new additions to its Online Real Estate Store. As North America's premier online 'a la carte' real estate product and service provider, Bloomkey now offers a Professional Property Showing Scheduling Service to its listed clients. Additionally, home sellers can now add a Professional Podcast Recording to their Bloomkey Property Webpage. Podcast recordings allow potential home buyers to hear a vivid description of the property and can be used in conjunction with Bloomkey's 24 Hour Property Information Hotline. Visit the Bloomkey Store for flat fee home selling products and services designed to help you save thousands on your home or investment property sale.

California Here We Come!

Bloomkey announced today the addition of California to its complete brokerage service areas. The opening of Bloomkey's office in Beverly Hills, California represents Bloomkey's entre' to the west coast real estate market at a time when it couldn't be more needed. With housing prices falling in many areas of California, home owners are often forced to forego professional real estate services due to the high commission based model offered by most traditional brokers. Now California home buyers and sellers can take advantage of Bloomkey's low, flat-fee real estate services just as the market has headed into a downturn. Bloomkey is now licensed in California, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia and offers flat fee services throughout the U.S. and Canada through its extensive referral network of flat fee brokers.

Map Search and Home Valuation Tools

Bloomkey has added 2 new tools to it's array of home buying and selling aids for online real estate consumers. Bloomkey Home Valuation tool allows community users to research property values from comparable property sales courtesy of Zillow. Google Map Search for properties allows Bloomkey users to find properties by geographic location by simply pointing and clicking on the areas of their search. The new property search features includes info on schools, crime statistics and neighborhood shopping. Bloomkey's Google Maps mash-up includes local property, shopping, school and crime data in several major markets around the country. More ways Bloomkey is "The Smarter Way to Buy or Sell Your Home!"

Ask the Owner

Bloomkey has added an important feature to it's Free Home Seller Webpage. Now in addition to being able to post up to 16 photos, virtual tours, property podcasts, view satellite imagery and print PDF flyers of properties listed with Bloomkey, "Ask the Owner" allows visitors to Bloomkey.com to post questions and comments for the sellers of property and receive answers in Bloomkey's Online Community Forum.

24 Hour Property Information Hotline

Bloomkey offers home sellers a way to connect with home buyers anytime, day or night. Bloomkey's 24 Hour Property Information Hotline provides callers with a intelligent phone system where users search for properties by speaking a Street Name, or entering an MLS Number or Bloomkey Property ID number. Once a property is selected, callers have the option of 1) hearing a recorded message describing the property, 2) connecting with a mortgage loan officer for financing options, 3) connecting to a real estate professional or 4) have the seller's phone number played or 5) connecting directly to the property seller's contact phone number.

Something New is Blooming in Real Estate

IHS Realty announced today that it will be changing the name of the company to Bloomkey in July of 2007. The new name and website are part of a brandng campaign scheduled for launch in July of 2007. Company Managing Partner, Lawrence Bunnell said, "the new name, logo and website will reflect the company's Internet roots and serve to better distinguish the company from traditional real estate brokerages...". See the new website at www.Bloomkey.com in July 2007..

IHS Realty Launches Buyer Rebate Program

IHS Realty officially launches it's buyer rebate program today. Continuing with it's mission to provide innovative real estate brokerage services, IHS Realty today announced it's exclusive Flat Fee Home Buying Program. IHS will now offer buyer rebates to home and property purchasers initially in Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia with plans for further expansion in California and South Carolina by September of 2007. Read more here...

IHS Realty Featured in Macleans Magazine January 2007 Issue

IHS Realty is featured in this month's edition of Canadian magazine, Macleans. Macleans is Canada's version of Time Magazine. The article, entitled "Money for nothing, lawn sign for free - The Backlash against soaring real estate commissions heats up." Read more here...

IHS Realty Featured in AEI-Brookings Joint Center Article

IHS Realty is featured in government attorney Mark Nadel's article for the AEI-Brookings Joint Center entitled, "A Critical Assessment of the Standard, Traditional, Residential Real Estate Broker Commission Rate Structure." Read more here...

IHS Realty Press Release - PR Web Podcast

IHS Realty formally announces launch of new website at ihsrealty.com. Read more...

IHS Realty Featured in Online Real Estate Publication Inman News

Online real estate industry news publication, Inman News today ran a story on IHS Realty describing the company's services and business model. Read more...

IHS Realty now offers flat fee real estate services in Canada

IHS Realty announced today that it will begin offering flat fee real estate services in Ontario, Canada this month. Company Broker and Managing Partner, Lawrence Bunnell said, "Canada's residential real estate market is similar to the United States in many key ways including its traditional commission based structure. Opportunities exist for alternative brokerage models to obtain signifcant market share..." For more information on flat fee services in Canada, read here...

Veteran Online Flat Fee Broker Launches new nationwide Internet real estate company.

IHS Realty today announced the beginning of a new nationwide Internet based real estate brokerage service with the launch of it's website at www.ihsrealty.com. IHS Realty will offer flat fee mls listing services throughout the United States along with a variety of real estate products and services designed to help home owners save money on their real estate transactions. For more about the company, read here...