By pre-screening model homes through virtual tours, potential homebuyers can dramatically reduce the amount of time spent looking for a home.

"Virtual tours are a tremendous time saver for potential homebuyers," said Glen Barnard, president of e.KB Inc., Kaufman and Broad’s e-commerce division. "Many of our buyers are dual-income working families with young children who don’t have a lot of time for house-hunting. It’s extremely helpful for them to tuck the kids into bed at night and start house-hunting on the Web."

To implement the virtual tours program, Kaufman and Broad has enlisted the support of iPIX (NASDAQ:IPIX), the leading provider of 360-degree virtual tours via the Internet, with clients including a cross-section of real estate, travel and entertainment companies.

In addition to interior and exterior tours of model homes, consumers will find a virtual tour of Kaufman and Broad’s New Home Showroom. This tour allows potential homebuyers to see some of the 5,000 options available to customize their new home. During a virtual tour of the showroom, they’ll view everything from kitchen cabinet and countertop selections to flooring, window treatments and security systems.

Other tours will illustrate the facilities available at master planned communities, including golf courses, parks, riding and walking trails, recreational areas and other community amenities. Users also will be able to e-mail the virtual tour to family members and friends.

"Many of Kaufman and Broad’s homebuyers are going through the process for the first time and will rely on advice from friends and relatives," Barnard explained. "Homebuyers want to ‘show’ their new home to out-of-town parents or friends to get a second opinion. This is particularly important if parents are offering financial assistance or co-signing a loan. Buying a home is a big decision, and it’s important to feel confident before making that investment."

"The professional staff at iPIX has been a great resource to Kaufman and Broad as we’ve developed a plan to bring virtual tours to our Web site. We’re excited about the partnership we’ve developed with them, and the product we’ll be able to offer our customers as a result," Barnard said.

People who are relocating from another state also will rely on virtual tours in their home search. As the population continues to increase in the six Western states where Kaufman and Broad operates, buyers from out of the area will have option of viewing homes from afar before getting on a plane for a traditional house hunting trip.

"The process of buying a new home is exciting for any family," Barnard said. "We’ve found that homebuyers are thrilled with the ability to ‘walk around’ a model home, visualize the decorating possibilities as they ‘stroll through’ the New Home Showroom and ‘experience’ the house that someday will become their new home."

Launched in 1998, Kaufman and Broad’s Web site provides a user-friendly method of searching for homes in any of the Company’s communities. Potential homebuyers will find photographs, floorplans and virtual tours of new homes, along with prices, home features and community amenities. A mortgage calculator and a series of "Home Buying 101" articles offer assistance in navigating the home buying process. In 1999, www.kbhome.com, was ranked as one of the top three homebuilder Web sites by Salomon Smith Barney and received the Silver Axiem award. Last month, more than 26,000 people logged onto www.kbhome.com to learn about new home communities near them.

For more information about Kaufman and Broad's communities, call 1-888-KB-HOMES or visit the Company's Web site at www.kbhome.com.

Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Company has operating divisions in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Kaufman & Broad S.A., the Company’s majority owned subsidiary, is also one of the largest homebuilders in France.

For More Information Contact:
Kate Mulhearn
(310) 231-4015
kmulhearn@kbhome.com