Real Estate Maps Find Houses Not Homes

Over the last few years a number of real-estate websites have moved beyond simply mapping the location of available properties and have begun to provide maps that allow house hunters to discover more about the neighborhoods where they are considering moving to.

Trulia Local has been blazing a trail in providing maps that not only allow users to search for properties but also provide a wealth of local information about schools, restaurants, banks & stores and levels of crime. Trulia Local doesn't just help users find a house it helps them find a home.

Nexity - My Neighborhood is another really interesting experiment in assisting house buyers by providing a map that not only displays the location of local amenities but also attempts to represent the atmosphere of an area. This map of the Rosney-sous-Bois commune in eastern Paris doesn't actually display listings of real-estate properties but instead allows users to explore the neighborhood based on a number of different interests.


The map sidebar allows you to view categories of local amenities on the Rosney-sous-Bois map. The categories include schools, bars, restaurants, shops and culture. If you select a category from the sidebar you can not only view the categorized points of interest on the map but also view a breakdown of the available options with that category.

For example, if you select to view restaurants, the map not only shows you where the restaurants are located but how many of these are pizzerias, how many are fast food restaurants and how many are Italian restaurants. If you then select 'À quelques minutes' you can view a visualization of travelling times to these local restuarants.

Nexity - My Neighborhood is an experiment in real-estate mapping. You cannot use the map to actually find available properties in Rosney-sous-Bois, nor can you view information about different areas of Paris. However it is a really interesting demonstration of how real-estate websites can help people find not only a house but somewhere that they will call home.