My next fun project is underway. What is it? A map… A comprehesive, mashup for searching and finding real estate in a particular area.
The Map Challenge(s)
So what is a comprehensive map? This cool little map [application] will need to allow home searchers to do the following (I’m also open to any additional suggestions!):
- Enter specific home search criteria such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, price, neighborhood, or sale status.
- Visually identify new and recently sold listings
- Toggle and visually identify property types such as land, multi-family, and single family.
- Toggle landmark visibility such as schools, hospitals, and gas stations
- View complete property detail without going to a new page
- Calculate and display average prices, days on market, and list to sell ratios
The challenge of creating this interactive map is not so much the complexity, but rather the difficulty in obtaining accurate up-to-the-moment data. I’m unable to obtain an IDX feed or RETS access. And even if I did, the feed doesn’t include sold information or geocoded listing information. There are also some very stringent [and mostly political] rules that restrict what data is actually “public”. Therefore we are working very closely with the broker to be sure that we stay within these rules.
The Map’s Purpose
As I mentioned in the title, house seekers and home sellers are nosy. (I’m one of them, too. I’m just privileged to have access to all of the data.) They all want to know the same questions:
- How much did that house across the street finally sell for?
- How much is my house worth?
- Which areas have the highest appreciation?
- What’s selling now? Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market?
I’m sure you could add to this list. The interactive map will, at least its purpose is to, help people get these answers quickly and easily. And for those wondering, yes, it’s partly a marketing ploy to be the best information provider in the area.
Map Development
I’m still evaluating the best ways to create this real estate map including the big three APIs (Google, Yahoo, and MS Virtual Earth). I’m also reviewing existing map applications to see how they solved issues like limited screen real estate and excessive listing data.
Which real estate maps do you like? I’d love to hear from you!
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