Home buyers, real estate agents and nosy neighbors now can get the power of Zillow.com in the palm of their hands. The Seattle online real estate upstart today is unveiling a free iPhone application that allows users to browse property information on more than 88 million homes in the U.S.
Utilizing the iPhone's GPS functionality, the new Zillow app pinpoints a user's location and shows nearby homes on interactive aerial maps. Much like the company's Web site, the new app also shows estimated home values, historical property records, for-sale listings and photos.
Zillow has been working on the application for the past four months, with Chief Operating Officer Spencer Rascoff saying that "it took a little while to get it right." Other real estate companies already offer iPhone applications, including Zillow's San Francisco rival Trulia.
But Rascoff said that Zillow's application goes much further than the competition, leveraging the phone's GPS functionality as well as its touch interface to allow users to move around the map with the swipe of a finger..
Zillow's app also offers data on 95 percent of the homes in the country -- which means iPhone touting users can look up the value of a home or peruse interior photos of their neighbors' pad as they walk, drive or boat around the neighborhood.
"Honestly, it has changed the way I walk around the neighborhood," said Rascoff. "It is totally different. You are learning about every home in your neighborhood. It is fascinating and it is fun and entertaining. It is sport."
more
No comments:
Post a Comment