As a result of an extensive assessment process involving both customers and employees, Homestore.com has refocused its core business objective--making real estate professionals more productive and profitable, says Homestore CEO Mike Long in a statement.
One of Homestore's assets that has been cut loose is its eNeighborhoods.com unit. The company would not disclose who the buyer is or the transaction price. The unit, eNeighborhood.com, provides neighborhood information and credit reporting services.
According to Long, a more focused, leaner Homestore makes for a more reliable partner to the real estate industry, a better value for our customers and a more stable workplace its our employees.
With the new 300 layoffs, the total number of workers cut from the suffering Homestore.com over the past four months reaches 1,000. Last October, just weeks before it announced disappointing third-quarter results, Homestore.com cut 700 employees and promised a major restructuring.
Problems continue for the ailing online real estate firm. Homestore.com is involved in a new series of class-action lawsuits filed on behalf of shareholders. This brings the number of legal proceedings filed against the company to over a dozen, alleging that Homestore.com artificially inflated its stock price by revealing false financial information.
The company's stock was trading at a new low earlier this week, down to $1.12, in heavy trading Tuesday. Its stock reached a high of $40 in July 2001. Last December, Nasdaq halted trading in Homestore.com stock pending news from the firm. In January, the company admitted to overstating its 2001 revenue by as much as $95 million. Homestore.com blamed bartered advertising, which was counted as income for the first nine months of the year, as cause for its inflated revenue.
While Homestore.com has lost its chief financial officer and disciplined seven employees in connection with its accounting woes, some analysts remain cautiously optimistic about the company's future.
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