HGTV (Home & Garden TV) and their parent company, Scripps Networks Interactive, have recently implemented a new program, FrontDoor.com. This is a type of listing guide for potential buyers/sellers and Realtors and brokers.

Vikki Neil, the general manager for FrontDoor, feels like they know have an edge on the market, “When you look at real estate search,it can be a sterile experience. There’s a lot of information out there, but there’s no one hand-holding the consumer. FrontDoor is giving them content, search, advice and a trusted community-basically one spot where they can get a digestible amount of real estate information, including pragmatic, how-to advice on various aspects of the home search and transaction.” There is also a big boost in knowing that HGTV has a viewing base of over 700,000, and is linked to other programs started by Scripps, such as FineLiving and the FoodNetwork. Neil remarked that, “There’s an embedded level of trust there which, in itself, is a big differentiator. FrontDoor is not a startup but an extension of the Scripps Networks family, so questions about who’s backing us or what our motives are don’t really apply.”

To date, FrontDoor has over 3.3 million listings, an impressive number seeing as they have not been in existence that long. They started out with 1.2 million from Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby´s International Realty, and several other independent branches. They have also recently signed agreements with Keller Williams International and Prudential Real Estate Affiliates.

The VP of Interactive Sales & Development at FrontDoor, Kelly Roark, says that their company, “is an opportunity for brokers and agents to ‘open the door,’ so to speak, to consumers who have a propensity to be hyper-engaged with their home. But we’re not just a listings portal. We’re a real estate information source to serve our audience through the entire ‘home lifecycle continuum.’ We have a 15-year heritage cultivating our lifestyle media network, with information on home design, maintenance, improvement and food, among other things. FrontDoor rounds out the cycle with home search, and buy and sell content...Given that the easiest client to get is the one you already have, brokers and agents need to start thinking about opportunities, such as those that exist with Scripps, to market to and connect with consumers before, during and after the home transaction-without having to handhold the client through a five-to-seven-year home cycle.”