HouseValues lays off 45

HouseValues, the struggling Kirkland online real estate company, has laid off 45 employees and announced that Chief Financial Officer R. Barry Allen has resigned.

HouseValues also said it expects a net loss for the fourth quarter and for the year.

"These cost-reduction measures are in recognition of real estate market trends and the effect they are having on the company's business," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The layoffs -- expected to save as much as $5 million annually -- come on the heels of a recent investment that HouseValues made in Bellevue real estate community startup ActiveRain.

It also follows a series of layoffs last year, including cutbacks of 60 people last January and the closure of a 100-person call center in Yakima in July.

Allen will be replaced by Jacqueline Davidson, the company's vice president of finance since November 2004. HouseValues, with a market value of $70 million, has lost several executives in the past 12 months.

Shares of the company were unchanged Wednesday at $2.88.