Infomercial producer gets piece of online real estate

Direct marketing giant Guthy-Renker has acquired a stake in online real estate lead generation service RealtyTracker, the companies announced today.

Under the agreement, Guthy-Renker will provide RealtyTracker with a national media campaign that will include development and distribution of real estate content and create television exposure for the online company. Guthy-Renker is a direct marketing company known for producing infomercials and products designed for direct response television sales.

Exact terms of the ownership stake were not disclosed.

Los Angeles-based RealtyTracker is a lead provider that focuses on higher-end consumers. The two-year-old company says it generates more than 16,000 home buyer and seller inquiries each month for a network of more than 5,000 agents.

Real IQ, a Los Angeles-based consulting service to the mortgage industry, lists RealtyTracker as a "challenger" in the real estate lead generation space. RealtyTracker, whose major competitors include HomeGain, HouseValues, Reply.com and RealEstate.com, is led by CEO Sean Whiteley.

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