Foreclosure data company RealtyTrac has acquired Homefacts, a website that allows users to research homes for nearby health and safety hazards, the company announced today.
The acquisition is RealtyTrac’s "latest move to grow its market presence and effectively arm consumers with the information they need during the homebuying process," the company said in a statement.
Homefacts aggregates and provides data that consumers can use to do their due diligence on a property before purchasing it. These include the locations of nearby sex offenders, crime statistics, environmental hazards and natural disaster risks. The site also lists nearby institutions and amenities such as schools, libraries, airports, hospitals, nursing homes, and police and fire stations.
Homefacts also displays economic and demographics-related data, including median household income, share of population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, unemployment rate and average area property tax.
"We are excited about the new opportunities that adding Homefacts’ incremental data sets allow us to explore, from new product offerings and stronger real estate analytics to better data collection methodologies," said Brandon Moore, RealtyTrac’s CEO, in a statement.
Homefacts founder and CEO James Moyle will join RealtyTrac as the company’s president and chief operating officer. He will manage RealtyTrac’s product development and consumer-facing teams and shape the company’s strategic direction going forward, the company said.
"Moyle possesses a proven track record as a forward-thinking Internet entrepreneur, having grown the popularity of Homefacts to garner more than 3 million page views per month in the absence of a marketing budget or external financing, and previously founding and serving as president of the prominent online vacation rental sales retailer SkiWest before selling it to Overstock.com in 2005," company added.
