Technology News. Technology Articles.

Los Angeles Times Media Group, GoIndustry DoveBid and CataList Homes Form National Venture To Expand The Pool of Auction Buyers By Providing Convenience And Transparency; Real Estate Agents and Brokers Central To The Zetabid Process. Inaugural Auction Of Southern California Homes Set For September 27th & 28th; Five National Lenders And Loan Servicers Offer Homes.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) August 26, 2008 — Americans seeking the dream of homeownership at attractive prices can now confidently purchase a wide variety of bank-owned and builder-owned properties at Zetabid auctions across the nation.

Zetabid provides first-time homebuyers and trade-up purchasers, as well as high net worth individuals and investors, with exceptional buying opportunities by providing a simple, accessible and transparent auction experience. Buyers can bid in-person at Zetabid auctions, via live webcast or have their agent submit an offer. Zetabid opens up the auction market of bank-owned and builder-owned homes by providing buyers with information and online tools to participate in widely publicized auctions for single-family homes, townhouses and condos.

“Zetabid fundamentally redefines and improves the way residential auction sales are conducted in the United States,” said Bob Bellack, Chairman of Zetabid and President, Digital Media, Classified and Development, for the Los Angeles Times Media Group. “For buyers, Zetabid simplifies the auction sales process and is a smart way to get a good deal on a home. For banks, asset servicers and developers, Zetabid is an open model for selling properties and offers the greatest awareness, access and liquidity of any auction provider through its national marketing capabilities. For the real estate industry, Zetabid is an inclusive model that enables agents and brokers to assist clients in buying bank-owned and builder-owned homes at Zetabid public auctions.”

Zetabid’s first auction will be held Saturday, Sept. 27 and Sunday Sept. 28 at the Ontario Convention Center at 2000 E. Convention Center Way in Ontario, California. Buyers can register in advance online, and bids can be presented in-person at the auction or via Zetabid’s live webcast auction. To view the inventory of homes, or for more information about the registration, bidding, and closing process, visit www.zetabid.com. Additional inventory will be added right up to the event.

Coinciding with the announcement of its first auction, Zetabid launched an extensive, multi-channel promotional campaign in Southern California that includes print advertising in the Los Angeles Times; broadcast advertisements through media affiliates such as KTLA; and online at latimes.com, local sites, real estate sites, and at www.zetabid.com.

Greater Reach And Access Improves Liquidity For Banks And Builders
As a consumer brand, Zetabid is designed to create broad awareness of and access to unsold inventory. Zetabid’s marketing capabilities help banks and builders expand the market and improve liquidity by reaching the demographic most interested in purchasing residential properties. Unlike other auction facilitators, Zetabid never removes properties from the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). With no off-market time, sellers and their brokers and agents can maximize opportunities to liquidate property.

“Because of Zetabid’s ability to reach a global audience of buyers, bank-owned and builder-owned inventory is opened up to local, domestic and international buyers for the first time,” said Ross Dove, President, Global Business Development, GoIndustry DoveBid. “Buyers anywhere in the world can bid on properties via webcast with the same ease as those physically present in the auction ballroom.”

Zetabid Creates Opportunity For Real Estate Professionals
Zetabid was created to fully engage the real estate industry and helps agents and brokers generate income. Because most home sales are executed with agents and brokers, Zetabid understands the importance of allowing buyers to work with their agents and brokers to get an attractive deal on a bank-owned and builder-owned home.

Buyers’ agents and brokers who bring clients to Zetabid auctions and represent them through the transaction are compensated. For listing agents, Zetabid also helps to significantly raise their profile in the marketplace by including real estate professionals in Zetabid’s promotional campaigns.

Best-in-Class Partners
Zetabid’s marketing capabilities tap the Los Angeles Times Media Group’s (LATMG) flagship Los Angeles Times (www.latimes.com), which reaches an audience of 3.2 million Sunday readers, has a daily readership of 2.2 million and draws 8.75 million monthly visitors to latimes.com. Zetabid also draws upon LATMG’s extensive network of broadcast, print and interactive partners, including Hoy, which reaches Southern California’s Spanish-language marketplace. As part of the Tribune Company, the LATMG also has access to markets across the U.S. through its network of media partners.

Zetabid’s auction capabilities are managed by GoIndustry DoveBid (EPIC code: GOI, AIM), the world’s leading provider of asset management, auction and valuation services. GoIndustry DoveBid has operations in 28 countries, conducts auctions in multiple languages, and provides the capability for international investors to bid on U.S. properties for the first time. GoIndustry DoveBid (www.goindustry.com/en/) has executed more than 1,000 webcast auctions.

Zetabid’s real estate capabilities are managed by CataList Homes (www.catalisthomes.com), a pioneering Southern California brokerage with extensive experience in foreclosure sales. CataList Homes provides transaction expertise and a scalable technology to manage the execution of hundreds of properties during a single auction event. CataList Homes is backed by Hal Ellis (founder of Grubb & Ellis), WestRiver Capital, Marcus and Millichap, Bain and Company, and several private investors. Presidio Merchant Partners, CataList Homes’ investment banker, acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor in the formation of Zetabid and maintains an active advisor’s role to CataList Homes.

About Zetabid
Zetabid makes it easy and convenient for consumers to purchase bank- and builder-owned homes at Zetabid’s public auctions. A venture of the Los Angeles Times Media Group, GoIndustry-DoveBid and CataList Homes, Zetabid expands access to the inventory of residential properties sold at auction and opens up the market to U.S. and international buyers. Zetabid offers the widest reach and greatest awareness of auction inventory through its national network of print, broadcast and online partners. For more information, visit www.zetabid.com or call 888.4-ZETABID (888.493.8224).

Zetabid Media Contact
Greg Berardi, Blue Marlin Partners, 415.239.7826, greg @ bluemarlinpartners.com.

See Also:

• Greenplum Brings MapReduce to the Enterprise
• Ex-Yahoo execs take on brand ad network, raise funds
• Adobe strategy: Mobile app meets Photoshop Elements, Express updates
• Greenplum Brings MapReduce to the Enterprise
• Opentracker.net Has Joined 1% For The Planet to Commit Itself to Preserving the Environment

[Via PRWeb: Technology Internet]