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Love the Map function: Is it just me or are there no homes for sale?
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2012 Jan 21, 11:47pm 3,403 views 7 comments
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Patrick
2012 Jan 22, 1:36am
Thanks for trying it!
Everyone: please try the various functions under "Should you buy that house?" Only the rental comps and price/rent history require paid subscriptions.
The thing about that maps is that I show only property for sale or for rent on Craigslist within the past week, and only if it has a specific exact address, like "123 Main Street". "Corner of this and that street" is not good enough.
You might try zooming out until you find houses start to appear. I limit the map to display only 50 for-sale houses and 50 rentals because otherwise the whole thing bogs down too much.
How can I improve all this? Please let me know: p@patrick.net or just leave a comment here.
toothfairy
2012 Jan 22, 3:56am
The trulia ipad app is pretty slick you should check that out. It shows houses for sale and u click the next tab and it switches to houses for rent
One improvement would be start right on the map screen rather than having to enter an address.
I think this must be an issue of the search function.
No input no output... online is one form of ad tools, but may not be used all the time.
Patrick
2012 Jan 22, 4:52am
The trulia ipad app is pretty slick you should check that out. It shows houses for sale and u click the next tab and it switches to houses for rent
I don't have an ipad. Can I still see it somehow?
One improvement would be start right on the map screen rather than having to enter an address.
OK, now it will start on the map screen centered on your own zip code, if you set one in your Patrick.net profile. If not, it will start in zip code 94025, just because I couldn't think of anything better to do.
No input no output... online is one form of ad tools, but may not be used all the time.
I don't understand. Are you saying you want some other kind of input or output?
Please keep the suggestions coming! I promise to give a thoughtful and polite reply to each suggestion.
toothfairy
2012 Jan 22, 5:04am
no I mean it should be on a map right when you go to should I buy that house. The search box should be on one side with the map on the other side.
This make it easier to just browse if you dont have a specific house in mind.
RealEstateIsBetterThanStocks
2012 Jan 22, 5:41am
The trulia ipad app is pretty slick you should check that out. It shows houses for sale and u click the next tab and it switches to houses for rent
One improvement would be start right on the map screen rather than having to enter an address.
i use redfin iphone app. i don't think it has rental but i think it's more up to date - some of trulia's listings are not removed months after the properties have been sold.
Patrick
2012 Jan 22, 6:17am
no I mean it should be on a map right when you go to should I buy that house. The search box should be on one side with the map on the other side.
This make it easier to just browse if you dont have a specific house in mind.
OK, I can do that. So you click on a house for sale, and it just automatically comes up with the calculations.
Heck, you could click on any house anywhere on the map, enter the price and number of br, and I could estimate the rent and tell you if it's probably a good deal or not.
One problem is that the screen would get too crowded. Maybe I should move the "Assumptions" column off to a different page then?
So, I haven't been searching around here as much as I have in the past. This morning I was looking for the super cool maps that let you look at an area and see what is for sale. I pulled up a couple of neighborhoods and saw almost nothing on the map. In the search the zip area, it only pulls up ads from the past week. Is that what the map function is doing? If so, it would explain why it looks like no homes are actually listed for sale. With houses sitting on the market for months, a week is going to under-represent what is out there if the maps have the some time constraint as the property search.
I think this must be an issue of the search function. I guess it could be learned helplessness by the sellers and agents. Did they all just give up and start drinking?