Chattanooga: Realtors, paper join forces on ads

The Chattanooga Times Free Press is partnering with local Realtors to provide more detailed housing ads on the newspaper’s Web site.

Starting April 1, all real estate listings from the Chattanooga Association of Realtors’ Multiple Listing Service will appear on timesfreepress.com, said Ed Bourn, the Times Free Press’ online director.

“Readers will have one place in Chattanooga where they truly can view all the listings,” Mr. Bourn said. “It’ll be one-stop shopping.”

The redesigned real estate advertising site will be easier to navigate and allow viewers to customize their searches, he said. Other search options include rentals and commercial real estate.

“We at the association are excited about the partnership,” said Kathy Tucker, president of the Multiple Listing Service. “It’s great for consumers because it’s an easy-to-use site and allows our Realtors to be more profitable, too.”

The partnership will provide more comprehensive housing information to online viewers, Mr. Bourn said, and will promote home listings by geographic area for viewers’ convenience. For example, the Web site’s Community News section will feature ads for houses in a particular area.

The basic service will be free to real estate agents, with upgrades available at different price points. Premium features will include a photo of the agent, his or her cell phone number, a link to the agent’s Web site and a profile of the agent. Also, there will be a link to that agent’s other listings.

“Agents will have more eyeballs seeing their listings,” Mr. Bourn said. “We’re the No. 1 local media Web site.”