Hilton Head MLS goes international in hunt for real estate customers

The Multiple Listing Service of Hilton Head Island has a new service that will help speakers of foreign languages find property in the area and help local real estate agents connect with colleagues in dozens of countries.

The MLS has formed a partnership with the one-year-old firm Proxio to make it easier for agents to capitalize on the island's appeal among international clientele, said officials with both organizations.

Yvette Acuff, CEO of the Hilton Head MLS, said the technology will help agents reach and better serve potential clients who come to the island from around the globe for its golf, tennis and yachting.

"We think there's a great potential to connect with those people," said Acuff, who first saw Proxio's system at a conference in February. "This was a great tool for an area like ours that has such a diversified consumer base."

For consumers, local listings are available in six languages -- French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish -- with more to come, said Proxio CEO and co-founder Janet Case.

From the Hilton Head MLS home page, www.hhimls.com, users who click on a nation's flag are redirected to pages where they can search in the specified language.

For agents, Proxio acts as a real estate-specific version of networking Web site LinkedIn.

Online profiles were created this week for all 1,400 members of the Hilton Head MLS, which covers eight Lowcountry counties: Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, Jasper and Orangeburg.

Once logged into their profiles, the agents can specify which languages they speak, which types of properties they specialize in and which professional designations they hold.

With users in 65 countries, Proxio can extend the reach of local agents far beyond the immediate area, Case said.

"We're going to find a buyer for you, wherever they are in the world," Case tells agents.

Case complimented the Hilton Head MLS for being among the smallest early adopters of the technology. The Hilton Head MLS is joining counterparts in larger real estate hotbeds such as Miami and Palm Beach, Fla., she said.

It was not immediately clear if the MLS of the Beaufort County Association of Realtors is working with Proxio.

Acuff said the move makes sense given the increasingly transient nature of the world's population. She hopes it helps her members drum up new business during the recession.

"People travel worldwide much more easily than they did 10 years ago," she said. "In the economy we have now, we need all the tools we possibly can."