This page is part of by the Homebuyer's Fair

All About The Homebuyer's Fair

by Arnold Kling

The Homebuyer's Fair was launched on June 1, 1994. At that time, there were just a few hundred commercial Web sites, with only a handful dealing with real estate.

When we first started, the Fair consisted mostly of articles. We had only one interactive exhibit--a plain mortgage payment calculator. We added the qualification calculator late in 1994 (with a number of revisions since).

In May, 1995, we began working with the Center for Mobility Resources, an information and service provider for the real estate, moving, and relocation process. We developed the Salary Calculator, and since then our focus has been on our interactive exhibits.

In May, 1996, the CMR partnership became formal, as we created a new company called The Homebuyer's Fair, LLC. The Homebuyer's Fair will continue to develop and expand under this new organization.

We have received a number of nice reviews and awards, including:

Jayne Levin's selection of us as "Editor's Choice" for the July 1994 Internet Letter

David Enna of the Chicago Tribune called us "the Internet's best for real estate information" on September 10, 1995.

In January, 1996, we were made a "pick of the month" by NetValue.

On May 15, we were selected as USA Today hot site.

In May, 1996, we were chosen as a "top 5 percent" site by Point.

In June, 1996, PC Week Executive (ExecConnect) selected The Salary Calculator (TM) as a hot site.

The August 1996 issue of Glamour Magazine recommended The Salary Calculator for relocation research.

On August 14, 1996, we were chosen as a DigiDay site of the day.

We are proud to have been chosen to appear on the Pointcast Network, an innovative and popular personalized news service.

In October, 1996, Kiplinger's ranked us among the top personal finance sites on the Web.

On October 25, 1996, we were chosen as a site of the day by PC Magazine.

In November, 1996, Microsoft Network selected us as a "Pick of the Week" the week of November 11; we were picked as a "Kool Site" by AOL's Komputer Klinic; and we were selected for the "short list" of BigBook, an Internet Yellow Pages.

Several of the search engines have "select lists" of reviewed sites. Those that have picked the Homebuyer's Fair among their top selections include Excite and WebCrawler.

In December, 1996, we were picked as one of the 500 best sites on the Web by Home PC Magazine

On January 6, 1997, we were again chosen as a

On January 8, 1997, we were chosen as a Starting Point Choice site by Starting Point.

On January 20, 1997, Internet News, a Web-related radio program, described The Salary Calculator as "like having a financial consultant on call."

On January 24, 1997, we were chosen as the Hot Site of the Day by Cybersmith, a technology cafe with locations in Boston, Palo Alto, and White Plains.

On January 29, 1997, Luckman Interactive gave us a 5-star rating.

In February, 1997, we were recognized by the Let's Talk Business Network, which chooses sites for their value to professionals and entrepeneurs.

In April, we were notified that our site has been named one of New York�s 50 Most Fun Sites by the editors of New York Now, http://www.nynow.com.

We were mentioned as a top mortgage site in the April 14, 1997 issue of Business Week.

In April, 1997, we received accolades from Beatrice's Web Guide, a joint venture between Yahoo and Women's Wire.

On May 16, 1997, we received a site of the day award from CyberMom.com

In June, 1997, we received an award from the Life Enhancement site

In July, 1997, we received a "Pure Gold" award from the Real Estate Library

In July, 1997, we were selected by The Consumer Resource Network, a cable network, as a feature site.

In July, 1997, we were selected by The Net Magazine to appear in their October issue CD of valuable Internet sites.

Our approach is to try to present valuable information to consumers. Rather than go with empty advertising, we ask our service providers to offer meaningful content. Our content has improved considerably over the past three years since our opening.

A major challenge has been dealing with the variety of browser software. At the end of October, 1996, we converted to a Netscape server in order to move most of our JavaScript to the server. JavaScript on the client creates problems for many browsers. We also tend to steer clear of frames and fancy graphics, because our users seem to prefer simpler pages that download quickly.

You can read more about my own background.

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