More competition for the Central Florida's record-high inventory is now faced by Realtors under pressure to sell homes in the area's slowing market. This is because of ZipRealty, a small but fast-growing real estate discount brokerage that entered the Orlando market this week.

ZipRealty's third metro market in Florida is Orlando. ZipRealty is a publicly traded agency based in Emeryville, Calif. It operates in 17 major markets in 11 states, including Tampa and Miami, and has about 1,500 agents, up from 983 in early 2005.

The company sells for about 25% less than some commission-based, full-service agencies and rebates 20 percent of the commission to the buyer. The district director for ZipRealty in Orlando is Reggie Hall.

ZipRealty reported that the total value of its real estate transactions rose to $899 million, up 8% from the same quarter a year ago. Net revenue also was up 8%, to $19.2 million.

By M. Sese
http://realestatepress.org