RISMEDIA, Jan. 4 – Real Estate has received the 2004 J.D. Power and Associates Award for "Highest Overall Satisfaction For First Time Home Buyers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms."

This marks the first time the global real estate brand has received this award.

"We are extremely proud to be honored by such a well-respected organization as J.D. Power and Associates," said Brenda W. Casserly, president and COO for Franchise Systems, Inc. "Buying a home for the first time can be a rather daunting experience. Being ranked highest in customer satisfaction with first time buyers illustrates the tremendous care we take to help our clients, both first time and repeat buyers alike, find the ideal home while making the buying process as enjoyable as possible."

According to a recent survey by the National Association of REALTORS®, first-time homebuyers currently account for 40 percent of all home purchases in the United States. Real Estate says it offers a host of products, services and materials dedicated to meeting the unique needs of this significant portion of home purchasers. The (R) ANSWERS book, available to consumers at local office or online, is a free resource guide that addresses more than 90 of the most frequently asked questions about buying and selling a home. The company also offers dedicated brochures, flyers and seminars geared for first- time homebuyers.

Real Estate's Web site has features for first-time homebuyers such as My .com, My Virtual Assistant and Create A Room which are designed to help make the buying process easier and more personalized. Through Mortgage, first-time buyers also have access to flexible mortgage options such as 100 percent financing and no-interest loans which are designed to meet their specific needs.

The J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Home Buyer/Seller Satisfaction Study(SM) Study was based on responses from 4,977 home buyers and sellers. To top of page