Coldwell Banker redevelops website.

With consumers using the Internet for increasingly sophisticated research, it is no surprise that the trend toward looking for a home online is growing exponentially as homebuyers continue to use real estate sales professionals to complete their transactions.

In fact, according to the 2004 National Association of REALTORS "Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers," 74 percent of home buyers use the Internet when looking for a home.

To enable consumers to gather as much information as they can before meeting with a real estate professional, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation has redeveloped its Web site, www.coldwellbanker.com with new functions and services to help consumers search for, identify and compare homes easier and faster.

The site also speeds the process of finding a sales associate, so in addition to being able to pinpoint a prospective home, site visitors also can quickly locate a full-service professional to complete their transactions.

The new Coldwell Banker Web site offers several innovative, consumer oriented functions that expedite searching for homes on the net. They include:

* An enhanced library of national listings, which provides users with access to available properties across the country from all real estate companies through relationships between Coldwell Banker affiliates and their local Multiple Listing Services (MLS). By using the "expand your results" button, users will be able to hone in on a wide range of local listings.

* A new, image-based mapping system that allows consumers to visualize selected properties in relation to the rest of the neighborhood and region, as well as other potential properties for sale. This function allows the user to see exactly where homes are located, including their proximity to major thoroughfares.

* Rich information on each property from larger photos, slide shows and virtual tours to detailed data, including square footage and property tax information.

* Saved searches that allow coldwellbanker.com visitors to save a library of properties they like and return to those listings for quick future reference. This is similar to saving items to an online "shopping cart."

"By using coldwellbanker.com, homebuyers can gather an abundance of information to bring to a meeting with a real estate professional, which we believe will help make that in-person experience more efficient and more rewarding," said Charlie Young, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation.

"When consumers work directly with sales associates, they are shown every listing available, and the sales associate and homebuyer review home features and other details such as commute time and school locations. Now, homebuyers can walk into a real estate office already armed with similar information they have retrieved online through our expanded search and mapping tools."

Young also pointed out that statistics from a California Association of REALTORS study entitled, "Internet vs. Traditional Buyer 2005 Real Estate Research Report," revealed that while Internet buyers spent more time doing upfront research, they worked quickly with a real estate professional, spending just two weeks physically visiting homes before making a purchase, compared with seven weeks for the traditional buyer.

As a result, an Internet buyer visits only 6.2 homes with a sales associate, while a traditional buyer visits 14.5 homes.