Wednesday, December 14, 2005

USCONDEX Condos Now Showcased on Leading British Online Real Estate Site



 
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USCONDEX Condos Now Showcased on Leading British Online Real Estate Site

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 2005--

  850,000 Monthly Web Visitors to Primelocation Now to Have Access to USCONDEX Listings; Comes at Peak Purchasing Time for International Buyers  

The U.S. Condo Exchange ("USCONDEX"), http://www.uscondex.com, the online marketplace where condos can be researched, negotiated and purchased in real time 24-hours a day from anywhere in the world, today announced that its condos will now be featured on http://www.primelocation.com, the UK's leading property website. Primelocation will showcase USCONDEX listings to its 850,000 potential buyers each month, simultaneously with the condos' listings on USCONDEX. The new arrangement forges a formidable relationship for transatlantic real estate transactions online. -- In popular vacation home states such as Florida, for example, UK buyers already account for one-third of all international home sales(1). Now, with USCONDEX sellers having access to the UK's most visited real estate website, it opens up enormous opportunities for increased exposure for their condo units. The new agreement sets USCONDEX apart from traditional U.S. real estate websites which do not typically cross international borders in their reach.

"Our goal is to make the U.S. condo market accessible to a worldwide audience at the click of a mouse," said Richard Swerdlow, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Condo Exchange. "Showcasing our condo inventory on primelocation.com is a first step in that effort, as we tap into one of the largest condo buying audiences in all of Europe."

Primelocation, http://www.primelocation.com, is the leader in the mid- to high-end U.K. markets and lists more than 50% of all properties for sale in the UK as ranked by value. Originally launched five years ago by leading independent real estate agents across the UK, the online site now boasts over 1,700 leading agents who exclusively list their properties with Primelocation with some 3,500 offices, both in the UK and overseas. Listings are accepted only from estate agents, letting agents and new home developers, with USCONDEX's inclusion now expanding that list in the U.S. Through its agreement with Primelocation, USCONDEX will also be bringing even more international exposure to U.S. condos in general. -- The Primelocation site currently lists over 200,000 properties of which 50,000 are international, but U.S. inventory is limited. That will now change with the USCONDEX alliance.

James Haft, Chief Financial Officer of USCONDEX, points out that foreign homebuyers also often spend more for homes than their U.S. counterparts, helping to raise the bar for values. A study by the National Association of Realtors just this past spring, for example, determined that foreigners paid a median price of $299,000 for a vacation or second home in Florida, while the median for the existing buyers in the state was more than $100,000 lower at $196,200. The numbers illustrate how luxury condo developers, brokers and owners in the U.S. may reap the best sales value through international avenues. We are also now entering the peak seasonal period for international purchases, with the winter months historically being the strongest time for such sales.

As of today, http://www.primelocation.com now features up-to-date listings of an initial 500 USCONDEX client listings, with USCONDEX's entire inventory of 25,000 listings expected to be posted to Primelocation within months. "You can't beat the price," concluded Haft. "For USCONDEX's low listing fee of $149 per month or $449 until sold, you now gain access to over 1,000,000 monthly global viewers, and this audience is growing rapidly as we continue to add marketing partners."

Visitors to the http://www.uscondex.com site can now view over $10 billion of available condos in Florida from the convenience of their home. Available offerings will grow to cover all the major metropolitan centers of the United States and then internationally over next 18 months.

USCONDEX, which aims to be the "eBay of the condo market", is a one-stop marketplace where buyers, sellers, developers and financial intermediaries can access virtually every possible piece of data they need for informed condo decision making right online. The exchange offers buyers and brokers exhaustive research capabilities so they can make the most educated purchase possible; the service provides sellers cost-effective access to a worldwide customer base; and offers developers and financial intermediaries objective real-time data for development and underwriting decisions. USCONDEX currently features over 25,000 condo listings in the state of Florida valued at over $10 billion, with a Las Vegas rollout expected this winter followed by a nationwide rollout in key markets over the next 24 months.

USCONDEX, http://www.uscondex.com, was founded by principals of Miami-based Swerdlow Group, one of the preeminent real estate development firms in the Southeastern U.S., and Pacific Alliance Limited, LLC, a New York-based merchant bank specializing in e-commerce, communications businesses, technology and emerging markets. The firm's offices are located in Miami and New York City.

(1) National Association of Realtors, May 2005 study.

Contacts
For USCONDEX, Miami
Anne Kazel-Wilcox, 561-741-1010
akazel@goldcoastcommunications.com
or
For Primelocation
Jamie Jago, 00-44-207-228-5464
jjago@jagodean.co.uk

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