Real estate brokerage company ZipRealty has announced plans to enter six new market areas and two new states by fall 2007.
The new markets include: Richmond and Virginia Beach, Va.; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Jacksonville, Fla. Founded in 1999, the company currently operates in 26 major metro areas in 16 states, including Washington, D.C.
The company has been actively recruiting agents — ZipRealty reported 1,875 agents employed as of March 31, up 26.6 percent from 1,481 agents at the end of first-quarter 2006.
Patrick Lashinsky, ZipRealty president, said in a statement, “At the beginning of the year, we said that we would expand aggressively, and with the planned addition of these new metros we remain on target to reach our stated goal of opening in eight to 12 new markets by the end of 2007.”
ZipRealty expanded its operations to Tucson, Ariz., and Naples, Fla., in early April, and added Denver in late April. The company offers 20 percent of its commission income to buyers and lists homes at a rate that is “up to 25 percent less than the current market commission,” the company reported.
The public company (NASDAQ: ZIPR) last week reported a net loss of $3.1 million in the first quarter, which compares with a net loss of $800,000 for the same quarter last year and a net loss of $20.2 million in fourth-quarter 2006.
Net revenues for the first quarter were $23.4 million, a 22 percent increase compared with the $19.2 million in net revenues reported in first-quarter 2006.
