For New York City Commuters, Searching for a Home Just Got Easier

Princeton, NJ, May 19, 2006 --(PR.com)-- Many NYC commuters know that housing in the suburbs with easy access to mass transit can be hard to find. MetroLinkHomes.com, a newly launched website, seeks to make the process much easier by providing the first online listing of commuter-friendly properties.

“Before MetroLinkHomes.com,” explains Ken Chantalat, the company’s founder, “someone hoping to find housing outside of New York City and remain close to public transportation would have to pull out a map, identify the towns along the different transit routes, and then comb through thousands of online listings to figure out which properties were located near stations. And where street addresses were not disclosed, calls to real-estate agents or landlords had to be made. It might take weeks to come up with a scant handful of candidates.”

By consolidating commuter-friendly properties on one free-access website, MetroLinkHomes.com saves users hours of time. Nearly all for-sale and rental properties listed on the website are located within a 15-minute walk or drive of the nearest train, bus, or ferry station. In each listing, distance from mass transit is expressed in time and miles.

Visitors to the website can search for properties for sale or rent by town, region, or zip code. An advanced search engine even allows users to search for properties within a specified radius of a transit station or look for housing within a certain radius of Manhattan. MetroLinkHomes.com’s geographic coverage area consists of the outer boroughs of New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, the lower and mid Hudson Valley, and Connecticut. 

For property sellers, real-estate agents, and landlords, MetroLinkHomes.com offers an opportunity to reach a niche audience of serious shoppers. “Whereas a condo within walking distance of the Tarrytown Metro-North station might get lost in the crowd on a general website like Realtor.com,” says Chantalat, “it’s going to get excellent exposure on our website, and may even appeal to people who hadn’t previously considered Tarrytown.” Advertisers have the option of listing their properties under a free, basic plan or paying $29.99 for a 90-day premium listing with better visibility.

Much more than a simple listings database, MetroLinkHomes.com plans to host an online forum to promote a sense of community among New York City commuters and to function as an information resource. Site visitors will soon be able to join online discussions of commuter-friendly neighborhoods and share commuting tips.

Visit the site at http://www.metrolinkhomes.com

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About MetroLinkHomes.com:
Launched in May 2006, MetroLinkHomes.com is an online marketplace for homes and apartments located near transportation options such as trains, buses, and ferries. The site provides an effortless way for buyers and renters to find a home with easy access to mass transit, while offering a unique advertising channel for realtors, property managers, and individual owners. The company is not a real-estate broker and does not receive a commission from the sale or lease of properties listed on its website.