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Dallas Dirt On Tape This Afternoon: Welcome Real Estate Ribbit

On Friday, a new real estate site is going online from Dallas that promises comprehensive insight into residential real estate with daily news stories and features and links kind of like — oh yes — kind of like what we are doing here at DallasDirt: it’s called RealEstateRibbit.com. (Like the sound a frog makes, ribbit ribbit ribbit.) And wild commenters, get your fingers ready — there will a blog called the Frog Blog. The developers/partners are Karen Taylor, who has written about the local real estate industry for more than 30 years; Stewart Lytle, another veteran real estate writer, and husband and wife team Beverly and Steve Smirnis, publishers of Building SAVVY Magazine, a trade pub for builders and remodelers. The site launches Friday, so I am going over to CBS to pre-tape an interview about my experiences writing a real estate blog. Maybe we’ll get a copy and let you listen in. Maybe you think I’m crazy because this is future competition and I should send them a gift basket loaded with giant gumballs. But then maybe… I’ll just go dig up some dirt…

Update: We just finished the interview, and I love Karen, love Stewart! What a great interview — we wanted 15 minutes, we talked for 25. Am very excited about what they are doing and you will be, too! And as a housewarming gift, I am going to give Ribbit Wick’s Candy, Say It Ain’t So Joe, Heeeeere’s Johnny, Orange You On Vacation, Dooner and a host of commenters from the Dallas Dirt Comments Hall of Fame.  

Industry veterans pioneer new media about North Texas real estate

RealEstateRIBBIT.com targets booming Internet news readers

(DALLAS/FORT WORTH, TX – Nov. 3, 2008) – Four North Texas industry journalists are introducing a ‘New Media’ Web site focused on residential real estate news and features for Dallas/Fort Worth’s $6 billion home-buying and homebuilding industry.

The Internet site – RealEstateRibbit.com – is slated to go on-line Friday, Nov. 21. It provides viewers comprehensive insight into the residential real estate market with daily news stories and features. It also offers a blog – called Frog Blog – to promote on-line discussions on the important issues of the market.

The name Ribbit, in honor of the esteemed frog, seemed appropriate in the Internet world populated by great companies with names like Google, Yahoo and now Ribbit, says partner Stewart Lytle. “Our target audience is the home-buying public and industry leaders – builders, Realtors, developers, mortgage lenders and suppliers. Anyone who lives in a home, builds,  sells, mortgages, designs or offers products and services for homes will find valuable news and information.”

Partners Karen Taylor, Beverly Smirnis, Steve Smirnis and Mr. Lytle are veteran observers and writers with extensive experience in regional real estate media. “We hope homebuilders, Realtors and their customers will turn to Ribbit every day for information about North Texas’ dynamic residential market,” Ms. Taylor said. “Interviews focus on a wide variety of news makers and it will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on RealEstateRibbit.com.”

Ribbit will link to other industry Web sites and provide news and features in an industry estimated at $6.6 billion by Residential Strategies. The site will provide in-depth information and analysis on trends, green building, new home construction, sales and marketing of pre-owned homes, remodeling, lifestyle issues, new products and services. It also will report on charitable activities by Realtors, homebuilders and others.

“An estimated 90 percent of buyers start their home search on the Internet. Ribbit will serve that North Texas market with independent news and features for consumers and industry leaders. It also is timely for the millions of people who get much of their news on the Web today,” Ms. Smirnis said.

Mr. Smirnis concurred:  “A recent study by Bridge Ratings, a resource for tracing radio and new media audiences, projects that by 2009 monthly Internet radio listening will reach 38 percent of the U.S. population. The Internet and the Web have revolutionized the way the global population accesses information.”

Partners are members of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas as well as members of the Texas Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

Stewart Lytle is a long-time writer and broadcaster on home buying and selling, building, land development and innovative home products. He has interviewed and written about hundreds of D/FW industry leaders in print media including Scripps-Howard Newspapers in Washington, D.C., The Dallas Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News.

Ms. Taylor has written about the real estate industry and business in the Southwest for more than 30 years.  She was on the team that launched The Dallas Morning News’ Home section and has won numerous awards for writing, reporting and editing. She owns Southwest Ink Public Relations, a leading public relations firm specializing in the real estate industry.

Beverly and Steve Smirnis have published magazines for the D/FW homebuilding industry for more than 17 years.  They currently publish Building SAVVY Magazine® covering new and pending legislation, financial and legal issues, and sales and marketing tips for home builders and remodelers.

For more information, call 972.889.2800 or visit www.RealEstateRibbit.com.