RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, and Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties, a leading real estate brokerage in Orange County, California recently announced a new agreement and strategic partnership that will allow Coldwell Banker agents and their clients to have real-time access to RealtyTrac's nationwide foreclosure database of default, auction and bank-owned properties.

“This is an exciting partnership between Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties and RealtyTrac,” said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing. “Agents and brokers at Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties will have access to real-time data directly from RealtyTrac’s nationwide foreclosure database, and users of Coldwell’s website will also be able to access distressed properties, including properties in pre-foreclosure, auction or bank-owned properties. That in turn will help drive more traffic and leads to the agent websites.”

With real estate in a downturn in most markets nationwide, foreclosures continue to grow. During 2007, there were more than 2.2 million foreclosure filings reported on nearly 1.3 million properties nationwide, a 75 percent increase in total filings from 2006. Foreclosure activity increased 112 percent in the first quarter of 2008, according to the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

“We are delighted to integrate RealtyTrac’s database into the Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties’ Website,” said Richard Moore, the president and broker-owner of Coldwell Banker Platinum Properties. “We are always looking to enhance our services, and the addition of an industry-leading partner like RealtyTrac certainly meets with this goal. Both Coldwell Banker and RealtyTrac are well positioned to take advantage of the ever-changing real estate market.”