PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug 6 (Reuters) - The online auction
site eBay Inc. <EBAY.O> on Monday said it acquired
HomesDirect.com, a Los Angeles-based online platform for the
sale of real estate in foreclosure.
EBay which already sells limited quantities of real estate
on its site, said the HomesDirect acquisition would expand its
real estate offerings about 10 times. Last year about 116,000
properties were sold over the HomesDirect site.
"We stepped back and said, 'Where in the real estate sector
can we add the most value?'" explained Doug Galen, general
manager for eBay real estate. He said that because real estate
transactions involved more thought and more money than the
average purchase, buyers and sellers were not always willing to
complete such deals over the Internet.
But when real estate goes into foreclosure, he said, the
Internet is a popular means to close a sale quickly, which can
help sellers minimize their losses.
Although the market for foreclosed real estate is likely to
expand as the economy goes south, Galen said eBay believes its
ability to improve efficiencies in the sector would bring it
long-term value, regardless of economic trends.
Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
