With all the discussion regarding who has the most listings and the biggest site -- and with all the layoffs and downsizing among high-tech firms -- it follows that someone would look at Realty Times and ask: Is not Realty Times an online business? How are you folks doing?

Such questions arose during a recent meeting in Baltimore. There, not far from the Inner Harbor, members of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) heard presentations regarding fair housing, distant learning and a variety of other topics.

Wearing my hat as the publisher of Realty Times, I was there to discuss one of those "other" topics, in this case how financial fall-out on the Internet has impacted real estate.

And so, naturally, during the day people wanted to know more about Realty Times.

Yes, Realty Times is an online enterprise, but we're not a high-flying Internet site in search of an IPO. Like most businesses -- probably like your business -- we make a profit, pay taxes, and try each day to provide a quality service.

Unlike a traditional business, however, we rely extensively on the Internet rather than physical locations to market our services.

More than 35,000 web pages connect back to Realty Times, we appear on most major portals, and thousands of readers receive our daily news summary. Our Realty Times Agent Locator is a classified advertising service that provides direct connections between consumers and realty professionals nationwide, while industry coverage on Agent News is "must" reading for brokers, lenders, appraisers, attorneys, and others in real estate. In turn, thousands of realty professionals use our Real Estate Update product on their web sites and for local marketing.

In addition, of course, we have also just announced the availability of The Financial Wire, an editorial product for mortgage lenders.

Instead of fancy graphics and complex programming, we believe that Internet sites best serve the public when they are easy to navigate, fast to upload, and filled with engaging content. To provide such content, we work with an array of experienced and talented writers -- individuals who offer a variety of perspectives and ideas.

In addition to real profits, there are various ways to measure online success and one of the best benchmarks is to look at how sites rank in terms of traffic. Somewhat like the "top 40" charts in pop music, there is considerable debate regarding how to count traffic and which measures are important. The result is that rankings and ratings can vary, and each site naturally has a favorite measure. From our perspective, one independent source that can be useful is Alexa.com. Like golf, the lower the number, the higher the ranking.

Looking toward the future, we see Realty Times as an editorial service which specializes in real estate and related matters. We expect to enlarge our product offerings over time, and just like any other business we want to continue our record of real profits and financial growth.

Despite the recent wash-outs on Wall Street, we believe the Internet is a medium and a marketplace, that it has value, and that it will be as common in the future as TV or radio -- and as necessary. The Internet certainly won't replace Main Street, but it will be another venue where people exchange ideas, shop, and do many of the things one usually does in any community.

For more articles by Peter G. Miller, please press here.

Published: April 24, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Peter G. Miller, also known as OurBroker®, is the author of six real estate books -- including The Common-Sense Mortgage -- and is the original creator and host of America Online's Real Estate Center. Peter's weekly columns appear in more than 100 newspapers nationwide, he is also published in a variety of other media outlets and he is a frequent speaker at national events and conventions. Peter welcomes your questions, comments, and news releases via e-mail at .