RealtyTrac

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RealtyTrac is a U.S. real estate information company and online marketplace for foreclosed and defaulted properties. Based in Santa Barbara, California, it started in the mid-1990s and publishes a monthly US Foreclosure Market Report. The site maintains a large database of distressed properties—more than one million at any time.

Ownership and leadership shifts
In 2011, Renovo Capital bought a majority stake and formed Renwood RealtyTrac LLC. CEO James Saccacio was replaced by Brandon Moore, with Saccacio remaining as a spokesman and board member. In August 2012, acting President and COO James Moyle—who had joined RealtyTrac during the April 2012 Homefacts acquisition—took over as CEO. In 2022 RealtyTrac was acquired by Nations Info Corp; David Teng, Nations Info’s President since 2020, was appointed RealtyTrac’s CEO.

Data, access, and usage
RealtyTrac collects foreclosure data directly from courthouse notices and county recorders. In 2008 it employed about 150 data collectors and charges a monthly fee for access to its listings. The company provides data to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, and The Wall Street Journal. Since 2005 it has released monthly foreclosure figures as indicators of real estate trends, and its data are used by government agencies and Wall Street analysts; government bodies can access it for free.

Origins and growth
Derek White founded RealtyTrac Information Systems in Santa Barbara in the mid-1990s. The company began by tracking repossessed homes and selling data to real estate agents, expanding to cover California and then the nation. White teamed with Ronald Schwarzrock and Michael Keane to build RealtyTrac, and through partnerships with DataQuick and Acxiom it created a nationwide foreclosure database across thousands of counties. The platform drew attention from Yahoo! Real Estate, CNBC, and Inman Connect. Jim Saccacio became CEO in 2000, helping move RealtyTrac from a California focus to a national platform. In 2007 the site was ranked the third-largest real estate site by MediaMatrix, and the industry praised its reporting standards. By 2012 RealtyTrac had an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and its marketing leadership earned a Stevie Award in 2007.