Press Room

GMAC REAL ESTATE ENTERS EUROPE BY SIGNING MASTER FRANCHISE IN PORTUGAL

GMAC Imobiliária Portugal Will Bring Unique Premier Service® to Lisbon Area; Master Franchise Plans to Ultimately Serve All of Country

Oak Brook, Ill. (April 7, 2005) - In a move that will introduce the GMAC Real Estate brand to Europe, the company announced today it has awarded a master franchise in Portugal.

GMAC Imobiliária Portugal - GMAC Real Estate's first European franchise - will bring the company's unique Premier Service program and comprehensive Home Services business philosophy to home buyers and sellers in Lisbon and surrounding Portuguese markets. The new franchise is owned and operated by José Manuel Pereira, chairman of a diversified group of businesses that includes residential and resort development, real estate brokerage, agriculture, insurance, and retail home and garden centers.

Working from the new franchise's corporate office in the heart of Lisbon, José Manuel Pereira plans to open as many as 125 offices serving Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve region and ultimately the rest of Portugal.

"This is an incredibly huge and exciting step forward in our long-range international growth plans," said John Bearden, president and CEO of GMAC Home Services, the parent company of GMAC Real Estate.

"We spent an exhaustive amount of time searching for the perfect partner to help us introduce the GMAC Real Estate brand to Europe. We found that partner in José Manuel Pereira. His highly respected family business - which is already admired throughout Lisbon and elsewhere in Portugal for its deep commitment to quality and exceptional customer service - mirrors GMAC Real Estate's service philosophy."

GMAC Real Estate signed a 20-year agreement, with renewal provisions, with José Manuel Pereira.

"Service has always been at the heart of my family's business, and GMAC's powerful Premier Service program matches our beliefs about how customers deserve to be treated," José Manuel Pereira said. "Portugal's real estate industry is already fairly sophisticated, but the time is ideal for introducing new levels of customer service that only Premier Service can deliver."

Indeed, Bearden said Portugal is the perfect place for GMAC Real Estate's entry into the European market: The country already has a well-developed service infrastructure that features excellent franchise brand development in key sectors such as food and retail. Bearden said that infusing the country's real estate market with superior customer service will be the company's key distinguishing characteristic.

"Portugal is among the most vibrant markets for franchised brands throughout Europe, no doubt about it," Bearden said. "But while franchise brands have introduced new systems, tools and sales techniques, they've often overlooked customer service. We believe our new master franchise will open the door to a new approach for improving customer service through our Premier Service program and Home Services business philosophy."

Premier Service is considered the most comprehensive and powerful customer-service program in the North American real estate industry. Through the program, GMAC Real Estate is the only real estate company whose sales associates put in writing, up front, the services they will perform and then ask their customers to honestly rate their performance after each transaction through a survey conducted and tabulated by an independent, third party.

As a master franchise, GMAC Imobiliária Portugal is adopting Premier Service as its customer service foundation. Adding extra value to the program, GMAC Imobiliária Portugal also will embrace GMAC Real Estate's acclaimed Home Services business philosophy of offering customers true "one-stop shopping" services, from home-buying and selling to mortgage, title insurance, home warranty and home insurance services.

Bearden said GMAC Real Estate continues to research other European markets and expects to announce other European countries by year's end.

Portugal At a Glance

• Population: 10.4 million
• Households: 2,6 million
• Home Ownership: 66%
• Annual Home Sales Transactions: 320,000
• Typical Commission Rates on Real Estate Transactions: 3-5% (8-10% for coastal & resort locations).

About GMAC Home Services

GMAC Home Services is one of North America's largest real estate organizations, delivering its unique Premier Service business program to homebuyers and sellers through its four operating companies: GMAC Real Estate Franchised Offices; GMAC Real Estate Company Owned Offices; GHS Mortgage, and GMAC Global Relocation Services. Backed by the resources of industry giant General Motors, the GMAC Home Services network has more than 1,300 franchised and owned residential real estate offices throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and now Portugal.