Inman

National for-sale-by-owner service partners with USA Today

ForSaleByOwner.com and USATODAY.com have partnered to provide a newly launched for-sale-by-owner real estate center on USATODAY.com, giving consumers the tools to buy and sell real estate without having to pay a broker sales commission, the companies said in an announcement today.

The deal is ForSaleByOwner’s first alliance with a media company.

Under terms of the partnership, USATODAY.com will direct its more than 9.8 million monthly visitors to an exclusive, jointly branded site offering the full range of ForSaleByOwner.com services including listing packages, homes for sale by owner, city profiles and school reports as well as detailed information and tips that outline every step of the home-selling process.

The ForSaleByOwner.com offering can be accessed through RealEstate.USATODAY.com.

“We have the potential to introduce millions of new customers to an alternative in real estate, which is even more important now that the housing market is cooling in some places,” said Colby Sambrotto, chief operating officer of ForSaleByOwner.com.

Adriaan Bouten, vice president of business development at USATODAY.com, said, “USATODAY.com readers count on us to provide comprehensive information for life essentials from employment to real estate,” and the partnership is a “perfect addition to our real estate offering where our mission, in part is to provide multiple home-buying options for our readers.”

In addition to property listings, ForSaleByOwner.com provides city comparisons, school district reports, moving company finders and cost of living comparisons.

According to industry estimates, the company said, one in four homes currently are sold directly by their owners.

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