iseemedia provides business update on its RealBiz360 subsidiary
Reviewing strategic options for profitable and growing unit
Market for Virtual Tours in Real Estate Industry is Growing Rapidly
According to a 2007 National Association of Realtors (NAR) survey of US home buyers and sellers, more than eight out of 10 buyers used the Internet to look for a home, and 90 percent of those people reported that virtual tours were useful in their search. A 2008 NAR survey reported that twice as many consumers found the Internet more useful than an open house.
The recent US real estate collapse has created an increased demand for online real estate marketing solutions that help sellers unload financially distressed properties by allowing buyers to take virtual tours prior to visiting a site in person. The sheer volume of properties available for sale and the length of time on market have made it an imperative to use online strategies for effective selling. RealBiz360 provides the industry's only high definition virtual tour solution that provides hands-on viewing experience for consumers and is the first company to automatically create video from virtual tours and slideshows for distribution via YouTube. More than 38,000 YouTube real estate tours have been taken since the service went live three months ago.
RealBiz360 Business Model Focused on Recurring Revenue Strategy
RealBiz360 is executing a three-pronged strategy to grow profitable and
recurring revenues:
1. The RealBiz360 business model is focused on achieving broad
distribution of its immersive imaging solution through licensing
arrangements with key leading real estate organizations and their
franchisors which allow their agents and brokers to access more
advanced immersive virtual tour services for a nominal fee. All
imaging and other online marketing tools are available as a 'pay as
you go' or monthly subscription service.
2. The company also 'co-labels' its virtual tour solution suite with
other online service providers to real estate and other markets and
shares licensing revenues as generated by the third-parties.
3. The company also licenses its virtual tour technology to camera
manufacturers to embed its basic 360 degree photo stitching
functionality to create instant real estate panoramic tours. Digital
cameras from leading manufactures ship this capability onboard which
allows agents to get into virtual tours easily without any training.
The company is paid a royalty per camera shipped from manufacturing.
RealBiz360 Monthly Subscriber Base Grows 100% in the Past Six Months
The subsidiary's online service has over 21,000 active subscribers reflecting a 100% growth rate in the past six month. The firm's not yet announced agreements will add more MLS customers this quarter as well as corporate enterprise agreements that will provide access to a potential 400,000 real estate agents over the course of the next few months. The subscriber base is expected to grow dramatically as the agreements involve deploying the first ever fully automated virtual tour system with direct content feeds from companies such as Century 21, ERA, Coldwell Banker, and Keller Williams, so that agents will have little work to create and distribute virtual tours on the web. The company expects to release news about these agreements in the coming weeks. The firm's current subscriber base is already generating seven figures in revenues which are expected to grow at minimum 50% next fiscal year.
RealBiz360 OEM Licensing Generates Profitable Recurring Revenue
The company's OEM licensing agreements with Kodak and Pentax have resulted in seven-figure annual profitable revenues. The multi-year agreements provide a sound financial base with a recurring revenue stream for RealBiz360 to continue its expansion in real estate applications.
"The worse the real estate sector gets the more attractive our solutions become to all participants in the real estate industry, from sellers and buyers, to bankers and lawyers," said Anthony DeCristofaro, President and CEO, iseemedia Inc. "RealBiz360 has reached a critical inflection point with an annual revenue run rate of
About iseemedia
iseemedia Inc. is a software development company focused on the commercialization of advanced, rich content adaptation and distribution solutions for Web and wireless applications. The Company maintains a portfolio of issued and pending wireless and imaging patents that support authoring, streaming and interactive viewing of content. iseemedia is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (Symbol: IEE).
(C)2009 iseemedia Inc. All rights reserved. iseemedia and iseedocs are either Registered Trademarks or Trademarks of iseemedia Inc. in the
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For further information: David Berman, CFO, iseemedia Inc., Tel: (905) 761-5293, [email protected]
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