Rentals.com America's Largest Paid Real Estate Rental Site
Primedia
Inc.'s (NYSE:PRM) consumer guides segment Consumer Source announced
its acquisition of
RentalHouses.com, America's second largest online marketplace
for small-unit rental properties, on February 6, 2007. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
Effective
immediately, the apartment listings on Consumer Source's
RentalHouses.com,
HomeRentalAds.com (acquired June 2006),
RentClicks.com,
and
ApartmentGuide.com are accessible via the company's
Rentals.com web
site, which now carries an estimated 62% of all paid small-unit
rental listings on the Internet.
Small-unit
rental properties, which represent approximately 85% of the U.S.
apartment rental market, range from rental homes to complexes with
up to 50 units. Large-unit rental properties, which are served by
Consumer Source's market-leading Apartment Guide and
ApartmentGuide.com, are complexes with greater than 50 rental
units.
Rentals.com,
RentClicks.com,
RentalHouses.com,
HomeRentalAds.com, and
ApartmentGuide.com provide landlords, investors, and property
managers with efficient, easy-to-use tools to advertise rental
properties online. The company expects to roll out significant
improvements to its
Rentals.com site throughout the coming months.
Robert C.
Metz, Consumer Source's CEO, noted, "Even with our strong leadership
position, with just 2% market penetration, our small unit business
provides another extraordinary growth opportunity."
Primedia's
properties comprise over 100 brands that connect buyers and sellers
through print publications, the Internet, events, merchandise and
video programs in two market segments:
--Enthusiast
Media is a special interest media company, with more than 75
magazines, 100 web sites, 70 events, two television programs, 400
branded products. Well-known brands include Motor Trend, Automobile,
Hot Rod, Snowboarder, Surfer,
Equine.com and
Wavewatch.com.
--Consumer
Source publishes and distributes free consumer guides (Apartment
Guide, Auto Guide, New Home Guide) in the U.S. through its
proprietary distribution network, DistribuTech, in more than 60,000
locations. It owns and operates
ApartmentGuide.com,
AutoGuide.com,
NewHomeGuide.com,
RentClicks.com
and
RentalHouses.com.