realtor.com

History

The company's roots go back to the early days of the internet when they were able to work with the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to host and manage the listings of [Realtors] nationwide.

In November 2005, Elevation Partners, a Bay Area Equity Firm, announced a $100 Million investment in Move. (source: http://www.elevation.com/EP_port_item.asp?id=2)

In February 2006, they announced their intention to change their name from Homestore to Move, which was formalized in May 2006.

Features

Move serves the "moving" community. In addition to the home search available on Realtor.com, the company has branched out into relocation services (moving.com), new home and rental search (move.com), new mover welcoming service (Welcome Wagon), local business directory (Welcome Wagon), and real estate agent support tools (Top Producer).

Criticism and Controversy

Much of the past criticisms of the company centered around the actions of the management team during the rise of the Dot.com_bubble. In particular, the founder and former CEO, Stuart Wolff, was convicted of insider trading and falsifying the company books. [source: http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2006/07/how_stuart_wolf.html].

During the more zany internet days, Homestore ventured into all kinds of different businesses including producing the Home Movie, a documentary about five very unusual homes in America.

References

• Move on Google Finance

External link

• Move.com
• Realtor.com
• WelcomeWagon.com
• Top Producer
• SeniorHousing.net
• Moving.com

• How Stuart Wolff Got Himself Caught in a Trap