Tools for Real Estate Voyeurs

There’s no question that the Internet (thank you Al Gore!) has made our world very small indeed. And now with new online tools, you can even look down into your neighbor’s backyard from the sky, or get estimates of property values of your friends or enemies—all with a few mouse clicks.

These new applications are making home buyers (and sellers) more informed than ever about real estate, although they don’t always paint a complete picture (more on this in another article).

Nevertheless, here are a few resources to whet your voyeuristic, er, real estate research appetites:

Portland Maps (www.portlandmaps.com) – The portal for all City of Portland property information (plus some suburban neighborhoods). The city has done its residents (and real estate agents) a huge favor by publishing a wealth of information stored in the city’s databases and records. Type in a street address and you have access to maps, information about the specific property, schools, crime stats, tax information, zoning, permits pulled, nearby bus stops and light rail routes, etc.

MetroMap (http://www.metro-region.org) - The regional metropolitan planning and policy organization has a mapping application that shows zoning information, tax lots, flood plains, school, fire, and police districts, and also includes aerial photography overlays.

Google Maps (maps.google.com) – A great mix of mapping and satellite imaging, particularly in metro areas. Search by address, zoom in and out of the map to see greater detail or context to neighboring communities, then click on the Hybrid setting to see aerial photography. For an even more detailed experience, download the Google Earth application for your PC and fly around the visiting address by address. Now also for Mac users.

Microsoft Local Live (local.live.com) – Similar to Google Maps, Microsoft’s version adds a few extra twists, like the ability to use ‘pushpins’ to mark locations or landmarks. It also features high-resolution, ‘birds eye’ 3-D views of areas of cities like New York, San Francisco, etc.

Zillow (www.zillow.com) – Not the first home valuation site, but this newly launched resource features free property valuation estimates, mashed up with maps and aerial views. Well-funded and launched with a lot of fanfare, Zillow has an elegant user interface, but has had very mixed reviews with respect to its accuracy. Tread carefully with this information, and consult your real estate agent for a market valuation that takes into account variables like home condition, upgrades, etc. Computer algorithms just don’t do subjective evaluations very well.

HousingMaps (www.housingmaps.com) - A project unaffiliated with the Craigslist.org company, this application scours both the ‘for rent’ and the ‘for sale’ property lists found on various Craigslist city bulletin boards, then maps them using Google Maps. A great resource for finding unlisted properties. This project was among the first to leverage the Google’s programming interface to merge data with slick online maps and satellite imaging (now called ‘mash-ups’). Again, many properties for sale by owner or by real estate agent on Craigslist can be negotiated with buyer’s agent representation. You can always contact me for help.

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2 comments February 24th, 2006