Prospectus Summary
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY The following summary contains basic information about our business and this offering. It does not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this prospectus, including “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes, before making an investment decision.Our Company
We provide an innovative marketing solution that enables residential real estate agents to capture and cultivate leads, and convert these leads into closed transactions. We generate leads for agent customers from our HouseValues.com and JustListed.com web sites, which cater to prospective home buyers and sellers. Our integrated offering couples these leads with our Market Leader online prospect management system and personalized coaching and training to help agent customers increase lead conversion.
We generated revenues of $25.1 million in 2003 and $20.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004. We have been profitable and cash flow positive since the second quarter of 2001.
Our Industry
According to REAL Trends, a real estate industry research firm, total residential real estate brokerage commissions and fees were approximately $60 billion in 2003. Because of the large dollar size of typical real estate commissions, prospective home buyers and sellers are valuable to real estate agents, and as a result agents invest heavily in advertising and marketing to generate clients. According to Borrell Associates, a media research firm, the real estate industry spent over $11 billion on advertising in 2003.
The Internet makes an unprecedented amount of home information readily available to consumers and an increasing number of potential buyers and sellers are using the Internet in the early stages of their home buying or selling process. According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 70% of home buyers used the Internet in their home search in 2003. The large number of consumers who use the Internet to conduct research relating to the purchase or sale of a home represents an attractive pool of prospective clients for real estate agents, and the interactive and targeted nature of the Internet makes it possible to reach and communicate with these prospective clients in an efficient manner. Despite this opportunity, only approximately 11% of the advertising dollars spent in the real estate industry in the first half of 2004 was dedicated to online advertising, according to Borrell Associates.
Our Solution
Our solution provides the following benefits to residential real estate agents:
Our solution also benefits consumers by providing information to help them make a more informed decision before buying or selling a home. We offer prospective home sellers free estimates of their homes’ current market value, and offer prospective home buyers listings of homes that meet their buying criteria as they reach the market.
Our Strategy
Our objective is to be the leading provider of solutions that enable residential real estate agents to capture and cultivate leads, and convert these leads into closed transactions. In doing so, we will seek to acquire an increasing share of real estate industry advertising expenditures, as these expenditures continue to migrate online. To achieve this goal, we are exploring and pursuing the following key strategies:
Company Information
We were incorporated in Washington in May 1999. Our principal executive offices are located at 15 Lake Bellevue Drive, Suite 100, Bellevue, Washington 98005. Our telephone number is (425) 454-0088. Corporate information about our company is available on our corporate web site at www.housevaluesinc.com. Information contained on our various web sites does not constitute part of this prospectus. Unless the context requires otherwise, in this prospectus the terms “HouseValues,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to HouseValues, Inc. and our subsidiaries.
“HOUSEVALUES.COM” is a registered trademark of HouseValues. This prospectus also includes trademarks, trade names and service marks of other companies. Use or display by us of other parties’ trademarks, trade names or service marks is not intended to and does not imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other parties.