Maps - the battle between domain vs realestate

Map based searching is really starting to take off in the US and one area that is really benefiting is real estate. A really great example is zillow.com
zillow is a zoomable, scrollable map covering a database of millions of houses. Buyers can check prices and track suburb averages.

According to a recent Age report here are comments from the respective industry leaders realestate.com.au and domain.com.au

All major players in Australia's online real estate industry plan to add Zillow-like geographical functions to their sites this year. "We are looking at more detailed maps, the ability to zoom in - property boundaries plotted on top," says Simon Baker, chief executive of realestate.com.au. He says "maps drive greater usability and allow you to present more information in a useful way". With mash-ups, the old real-estate phrase "close to amenities" is instant graphical proof. Sites could plot schools on the same map, and show school catchment areas, local shopping centres, public transport, restaurants and police stations. There is also the ability to overlay census data such as demographics, average ages, house prices and crime rates.

Fairfax's domain.com.au also sees maps coming into play in online real estate. "Maps are essential tools in the process of connecting property buyers and sellers," says Sam Plowman, general manager of online real estate at Fairfax Digital. "They are becoming more prolific, both domestically and overseas, due to the increased functionality on offer. They are also becoming easier to use and read. Maps will play a part at both the start and end of a search."

Sam Emerson, chief executive of realestateview.com.au, says maps can be a "fantastic" tool for consumers. "(Mapping is) a necessary space to be in for any property portal in the future," he says.

There are several signs that Australian users are looking for maps online. Visits to the "travel-maps" category by Australian internet users grew by 44 per cent over the past year, according to the search intelligence company, Hitwise. Almost half of those hits were on Sensis' whereis.com. Sensis claims a 70 per cent growth in the use of whereis.com over the past year, to approximately 1.5 million visitors per month. But Hitwise claims that much of the growth was driven by Google Maps and Google Earth.

Here's a current directory / sitemap to WEB 2.0 Products and Services relating to real estate & rental in the US. This section is really starting to hot up as you can see by taking a tour of the following sites

Homethinking
Hotpads
Real Estate ABC
RENotebook
Streeteasy
Trulia
Zillow