Inman

Move Inc. to power AOL Real Estate search

Realtor.com operator Move Inc. says it will power AOL Real Estate’s homes for sale search, syndicating listings and providing proprietary search technology.

Move and AOL Real Estate will also coordinate ad sales to real estate agents, brokers and other advertisers, allowing them to extend their reach to AOL Real Estate’s audience.

The deal is similar to an agreement Zillow and Yahoo Real Estate announced in July, in which Zillow manages a common set of for-sale listings on both sites, with ads agents and brokers purchase from Zillow appear on both sites.

Realtor.com and Yahoo Real Estate have been trading places as the most popular real estate website since August, according to analytical reports by metrics firm Experian Hitwise.

But according to Hitwise, Zillow was the third most visited real estate portal in November, while AOL Real Estate was not ranked in the Hitwise top 20.

AOL Inc. Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong said in a statement that the company will be "doubling down on our strategy in 2011," partnering with companies in areas "that add strength to the consumer experience and drive profitability for AOL."

Move said it will use its recently acquired ListHub network to syndicate millions of listings to AOL Real Estate later this year.