Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Prepares for Market Turnaround with New Resources and Support to Help Agents Increase Their Bottom Line

Salt Lake City, UT, April 18, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Following three years of a difficult real estate market – both for consumers and for agents – many economists are predicting that we could finally see a turnaround beginning later this year. In anticipation, Utah’s largest real estate services company is unveiling a number of programs to help their agents capitalize on a housing market recovery.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage announced today that it is rolling out an extensive marketing and professional training program to support its nearly 900-person sales team in 12 Utah offices. Among other things, the company has signed new contracts with a number of leading websites, including the Wall Street Journal, NYTimes.com and KSL.com, which will give their home listings the most comprehensive Internet exposure in the industry.

“While the housing market may not be out of the woods yet, we are encouraged by some early indicators that things are beginning to slowly turn around,” said Dan Christensen, president of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Utah.

“Consumer confidence is finally on the rise and we’re seeing increased open house traffic, buyer inquiries and calls to our agents and offices,” he said. “As the leader in our industry, we think its incumbent on Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage to take a leadership role by providing our sales team with the all tools and resources they need to help the housing market turnaround and rebuild their own businesses at the same time.”

The new program to support agents is broken into three categories: increased technology presence, Web-based agent training and agent education events.

Increased Technology Presence
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage is introducing four new websites to its already impressive technology grouping. Agents in the company will now be able to feature their clients’ homes on the premier business website in the U.S., the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ.com. Deals were also made to show agent listings on the New York Times’ website, NYTimes.com, HGTV’s popular website, FrontDoor.com, as well as HomeFinder.com, owned by the Washington Post and several other leading media outlets.

The Internet deals now give Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage agents and their home listings exposure to many of the country’s leading real estate websites including Realtor.com, UtahHomes.com, ColdwellBanker.com, OpenHouse.com, Trulia.com, Google.com, Yahoo! Real Estate and Zillow.com.

“While some companies offer one or two of these sites, no other company offers the extensive technological package that Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage does,” Christensen said. “This provides a tremendous marketing opportunity for our agents and reassures their clients that they are working with not only the leading brokerage in the nation, but one that has its finger on the pulse of today’s technological advances.”

Web-based Agent Training Programs
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage also is expanding its online educational program, Propel. Through Propel, the company’s agents along the Wasatch Front have the ability to attend an entire training program in a virtual classroom—all from the comfort of their own home or office without having to drive long distances to a training location.

Among the recent new additions to the training, the company’s agents may now log on for free to 90-minute real estate courses including social networking, a focus on how to effectively market yourself on networking websites such as LinkedIn or FaceBook. Other popular new courses include developing client marketing plans, analyzing data and trends and marketing your listings on the Web.

Agent Education
Finally, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently rolled out a new experienced training and education program known as Orbit which, through role-playing and classroom instruction, will teach students how to build a client base, deliver convincing presentations, price and effectively market listings, prospect for new clients, work with buyers, manage the current market and develop a business plan that leads to success.

About Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a leading residential real estate brokerage company in Utah, operates 12 offices with about 900 sales associates serving the communities of the greater Wasatch Front. The company offers residential and commercial brokerage, corporate relocation and mortgage services. Through its internationally renowned Coldwell Banker Previews® program, the company is widely recognized for its expertise in the luxury housing market. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, online at www.UtahHomes.com, is part of NRT LLC, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company. NRT, a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, operates Realogy’s company-owned real estate brokerage offices. For more information, please visit www.UtahHomes.com or call 801.563.8700.

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