Yahoo! Real Estate Updates Home Values Search with Maps and Local
Congratulations to the Yahoo! Real Estate team on their newly updated Home Values center that launched today! They’ve used the Yahoo! Maps AJAX API as well as the Yahoo! Local search API to create a cool mash-up that provides users with a more comprehensive view of home valuations, community insights, and local connections.
Searching for a particular home’s value takes you to an expanded results page that features estimated home values from Zillow.com, as well as two newly formed relationships with eppraisal.com and reply.com. This allows you to get multiple home value estimates from leading providers in order to give users a more complete view on a home’s potential value range. The real estate team also expanded their Zillow relationship to include home data (such as beds, baths, square feet), sale history and tax info, as well as recently sold comparable homes that are plotted on the map. Additionally, you can view nearby similar homes for sale from Y! Real Estate to better understand the âÃòask’ side of the valuation process âÃì what are sellers asking for similar homes right now?
To tap into the knowledge of the Yahoo! community, the real estate team joined up with Yahoo! Answers in order to surface home values related questions and answers directly on Yahoo! Real Estate. You can browse the top home values questions and best answers, view more home values Q&As, search Y! Answers for any question/answer, or ask the community a question of your own. Using the Yahoo! Local search API, they also surface local valuation professionals to help you connect with top rated real estate appraisers in your area should you choose to get a professional home appraisal.
Check it out and let us know what you think!
Brian Rothenberg, Product Manager, Yahoo! Real Estate
Yahoo has consistently made their services better and better especially the real estate section.
I think the mapping function through AJAX is good. However, as a non-techy, I am still not sure how I can implement it to drive traffic to me. Of course, I am not sure how a local Realtor can compete with large companies that spend lots of $$$ even if the content is more focused and relevant.