Homesnap Builds First Mobile Real Estate Platform Around Iconic "Snap" Feature and Unrivaled Big Data

AUSTIN, TX and WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Mar 6, 2013) - (SXSW) Homesnap is set to unveil its powerful new mobile real estate platform at SXSW Interactive in Austin. Homesnap is now the first real estate platform built specifically for the mobile era. Along with the new platform, the company, formerly Sawbuck, has rebranded as Homesnap to exemplify its focus on mobile as the primary delivery model for real estate information. This launch integrates unrivaled big data, mobile-friendly home search and a built-in social graph with the magic and fun of Homesnap's iconic feature, which lets consumers snap a picture of any home to find out all about it.

Compared to other real estate apps, which are often simply a "lite" version of their original web site, Homesnap lets you browse, discover and curate homes in the real world. A simple snap of a photo begins the journey from discovering a home, to investigating neighborhoods, to contacting an agent and making a purchase. Homesnap brings these capabilities together for the first time in a fun and captivating mobile platform.

"Last year, we created the essential mobile real estate feature: just snap a picture of any home to find out all about it, like Shazam for homes," said Homesnap co-founder and CEO Guy Wolcott. "Over a million snaps later, consumers have embraced the power of the snap as the beginning of their real estate journey. Now we've built an entire brand and platform around the magic and fun of that remarkable feature."

The new Homesnap platform is built on an unmatched blend of real estate "big data," from tax records to school boundaries to complete MLS data, plus tens of millions of photos. A new aerial map feature called "Explore" allows consumers to find and "snap" any home in the country -- even if they're sitting on their couch. Casual users can browse visually, guided by the homes others have snapped, right down to a specific block and every home on it. Homebuyers can access the same real-time MLS data the pros use, including every home for sale and up-to-the-minute information on sold homes.

For the first time, Homesnap is making homes -- and home buying -- social, with the introduction of a built-in social graph and Instagram-style photo stream. Users can easily add friends from Facebook, Twitter or their smartphone's address book, making it simple to trade snaps, comments and recommendations with their friends, family and extended social communities much as they do today in the real world. "Home shopping in the real world is collaborative, and Homesnap is the first app to make that collaboration simple, even fun," says Wolcott.

Homesnap is not just for consumers. Now, real estate agents have even more ways to interact with their clients and potential buyers right inside the app. Agents can keep tabs on the homes their clients snap, recommend homes they might like, and trade comments about specific homes. Clients can see their agent's recommendations, give their reaction and plan home tours.

"Homesnap is changing the way agents and clients engage, and improving the home shopping and buying experience for both of them," said Sam Barbieri of ReMax Unlimited in suburban Washington, D.C. "Homesnap provides a seamless way for me to guide clients through the home buying process, from curiosity, to discovery, to purchasing, all on a mobile platform. It has quickly become an invaluable tool and the talk of our industry."

Find Homesnap at SXSW at the Entrepreneur's Lounge at Fogo de Chao on March 8th at 5:00 pm, at the TechCocktail Startup Celebration on March 9^th at 6:00 pm, or online at www.homesnap.com.

To download the Homesnap app, visit http://www.homesnap.com/get

The Android app will be available this month.

About Homesnap
Called "Shazam for Homes," Homesnap fuses unrivaled big data, mobile-friendly home search and a built-in social graph with the magic of its iconic "snap" feature. From casual browsers to serious buyers to professional agents, Homesnap makes it simple and fun to discover and share homes in the real world or right from your couch. Homesnap is based in Washington, D.C., and backed by Steve Case's Revolution Ventures and A.H. Belo Corp., owner of the Dallas Morning News.