Sunday, January 10, 2010

Canadian Real Estate on Google Maps

Gary Little Real Estate Map

One of Canada's first real estate Google Maps mashups has now released a mobile phone application for searching and finding property on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.

The application uses Google Maps to show the locations of hundreds of homes for sale in Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Sechelt, Halfmoon Bay, Pender Harbour, and neighbouring areas.

The internet-hosted map, which integrates satellite imagery and street maps, can be used to examine homes for sale in specific neighbourhoods of interest and to learn more about a home simply by tapping its marker on the map. It also allows property brochures and photos to be sent to anyone by email.

One very useful feature of the application is the ability to specify criteria to indicate which properties are to be shown on the map: property type, days on market, price range, minimum number of bedrooms & bathrooms, and desired special features (waterfront, view, fireplace, hot tub, pool, security system, workshop).

It is also possible to show a very specific group of properties on the map by performing a free-form text query of a property's information. The query can include an MLS number, street address or street name, postal code, or a keyword of interest in a property's description field. The search query syntax is quite powerful and supports advanced "and", "or", "not", and wildcard searches.

The map can also track the user's actual location in real time. With this feature turned on, the centre position of the map automatically changes every 30 seconds so that nearby homes for sale are always in view even when the user is on the move.

The Sunshine Coast interactive real estate map optimized for mobile phones is available at http://imap.GaryLittle.ca/.

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