These portals are each exclusively branded for and sponsored by a top local brokerage specializing in luxury properties.  The portals are:

www.LuxuryMonterey.com sponsored by John Saar Properties
www.LuxuryNorthBay.com sponsored by Healdsburg Sotheby’s International Realty
www.LuxurySiliconValley.com sponsored by Intero Real Estate Services
 
According to the American Affluence Research Center (AARC) there is continued optimism in the 12- month economic outlook of the wealthiest 10% of Americans, the 11 million households representing about half of all consumer income and spending and a third of the total US economy.  In the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, the strong economy and low unemployment has created a strong market for luxury homes. 

 The websites are based on visually impressive full-screen maps, with a selection of aerial, hybrid, street or topographical maps. Upon mouse-over the user can quickly see a photo and the price of the listing. With just two clicks the user can bring up the detail page for any listing on the sponsoring broker’s website.  The map can be easily bookmarked with the most popular social bookmarking sites, or it can be emailed to friends or relatives. The RSS based notification of new luxury properties is also a unique, novel feature in this industry.  The portals lend themselves well for kiosk type applications.

 Zoltan Szendro, CTO and Executive VP for RealBird said: “We wanted to apply our technology and know how to the luxury real estate segment. It takes special interface design know how to create a portal technology that is appealing, classy, simple to use and therefore very effective.  We are thrilled that we can launch these sites with reputable and classy brokerages like John Saar, Sotheby’s International and Intero.”

 About RealBird:

RealBird’s services (http://www.realbird.com) include listing marketing, agent marketing and lead generation tools uniquely tailored to the needs of the residential and commercial real estate industry. The RealBird Publisher provides an easy-to-use Property Website builder with syndication to 3rd party classified sites. The RealBird Map-based Search service couples the traditional, form-based MLS search with the ability to browse listings on a street or aerial map. RealBird has over 8,000 members and also provides mapping services to leading broker portals and virtual tour providers.