Richmond.com Press Release

September 29, 2002

Richmond.com and the Central Virginia Regional MLS Join Forces to Establish the Area's Most Complete, Comprehensive Home Search Site

Today, Richmond.com and the Central Virginia Regional MLS (a Multiple Listing Service owned and operated by the Richmond Association of REALTORS® and the Southside Virginia Association of REALTORS®) announced a new partnership between the two entities and the launch of the newly revised homes and real estate channel within Richmond.com.

The Central Virginia Regional MLS will provide the listing data that will power the home search portion of Richmond.com. Homebuyers will be able to go to Richmond.com and search all homes listed for sale by REALTORS® in the Richmond Metropolitan and Tri-Cities areas. Buyers will be able to search for homes not only based on such criteria as area, price, bedrooms, and baths, but also by specific elementary, middle, and high schools-search functionality unique to Richmond.com.

In addition to the enhanced home search functions, the new real estate channel will include a mortgage calculator to assist buyers in determining what their monthly payments will be, tips on buying and selling a home, and easy access to various companies associated with the home buying process (attorneys, home inspectors, lenders, moving vans, title companies, etc.). Moreover, consumers will be able to conduct a search for specific real estate companies and/or agents. Finally, a feature unique to Richmond.com's real estate channel will be "New Listings." By clicking on "New Listings," home buyers will be able to see homes that have gone on the market in the last 48 - 72 hours.

In announcing the partnership and the launch of the revised real estate channel, the President of the Central Virginia Regional MLS, Jim Napier said: "We're very excited to be able to provide area sellers with such a tremendous means of showcasing their homes and to facilitate the home search process of buyers. We want as many people as possible to see the homes that are for sale in the area, so partnering with a site that receives over 125,000 unique visitors each month makes perfect sense. In the past, the real estate channel within Richmond.com has received over 500,000 page views every month. We're confident that with the newly revised channel-and its exciting features that will make the home search process fast and even fun-more and more buyers and sellers will visit the site each month."

John Whitlock, President and CEO of The Whitlock Group and Richmond.com, expressed enthusiasm for the new venture as well: "The vision behind Richmond.com is to bring our entire community online in an exciting and useful way. If it is important to the Richmond metropolitan region-to our work places, our culture, our families-then it needs to be on Richmond.com. Clearly, providing a comprehensive homes and real estate channel within our site is a critical part of transforming our vision into reality."

The newly revised real estate and home search channel within Richmond.com (homes.richmond.com) will typically contain 4,250 properties for sale-the most complete listings of homes for sale in the Richmond metropolitan and Tri-Cities area. This channel also serves as the home search engine for www.CentralVirginiaHomeSearch.com, a consumer site owned and operated by the Central Virginia Regional MLS.

Richmond.com is a locally owned and operated company in Richmond, Virginia.

For information contact: megan.brackett@corp.richmond.com
Phone: (804) 355-4500