Dallas-based Belo getting into selling real estate with online brokerage company SawbuckRealty.com

You are going to see a press release from The Dallas Morning News any time now announcing that Belo Corporation has invested in SawbuckRealty.com. They are a Web-based residential brokerage based in Washington D.C. They are going to be opening next week in California. If you go to their Web site SawbuckRealty.com, they did an overview of their operation which is geared mostly to first-time buyers and a slightly lower price range. Belo has not stated any promotional plans, but the Sawbuck site will become the platform for the Dallas News real estate site, and it will have full access to NTREIS and MLS. So, the bottom line is the Dallas News has decided to enter the market as an online broker referring prospects to so called partner agents for a 30 percent fee off the top. Needless to say several brokers are meeting next week … And [we] will certainly update [you] with any implications and options. Have a good weekend.