"Rather, Roost has cultivated partnerships with local MLS’ and brokers’ IDX feeds to provide complete coverage in each market it enters. It reminded me of the approach another of my favorite search tools, [4] Estately.com, has taken.
Unlike Estately however – which only works in Washington State - at launch Roost will be live in 14 markets. These include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boise, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minneapolis, Orange County, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento/Modesto, Washington D.C. and San Diego. Chang expects by the end of 2008, they will be in close to 40 markets.
How it works is, in each market, the search results are sponsored by an individual broker (e.g. “Portland listings brought to you by…”). As a consumer, if you want more information on any particular listing, including contact information, all the traffic drives through to that sponsoring broker’s site.
Every market however, can have an unlimited number of sponsors and the sponsors rotate in based on the amount of traffic they have bought." more Future of Real Estate
