While we here at Homescape are optimistic about the future of the real estate market across the country, we also recognize that these are trying times.

And in today's challenging market, Homescape has become more committed than ever to providing our customers and consumers with a comprehensive set of online marketing tools that effectively drive traffic and leads back to the real estate professional and the listings. With over 3 million home listings, Homescape will continue to be a leading online provider of local, comprehensive real estate property listings and rich consumer focused content.

Homescape and HomeGain customer appreciation party at the Red Coconut Club in Orlando, FL, during the NAR Conference and Expo.

This past weekend, Homescape got the opportunity to showcase some of our newest products at the National Association of Realtor's Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL. The convention was held from Nov. 7-10 at the Orange County Convention Center.

While conference attendance was down at this year, compared to that of the previous year, the event was quite the shindig, featuring more than 500 exhibitors and thousands of real estate product and service innovations. There were also plenty of informative workshops and seminars that presented attendees with new ideas and productivity tools designed to save time and teach Realtors how to work more efficiently.

This lucky Realtor stopped by the Homescape booth and won a prize during the NAR Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL.

At the Homescape expo booth, our team collected over 2,600 leads (a 30 percent increase from last year) and sold 40 showcase packages (compared to only 10 last year).

The site's new redesign, the launch of our Green Initiative and our new mobile products made Homescape a big hit at NAR this year. Giving away Homescape teddy bears and cash prizes didn't hurt either!

This success belongs to the entire Homescape team working the conference booth and to the rest of the staff back in Chicago, who put much effort into the projects leading up to NAR.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.