16/06/2010
Finding the perfect place to live in the UK just got easier
with Property Search in Google.
Google has finally launched its own property search engine on its Google Maps service in the UK. Google has already been using US and Australia as a testing ground for its new free real estate service, which has changed the dynamics of the property market in those countries.
The new feature helps you find available properties and explore neighbourhoods on a single map.
How to find a property
To start looking for your new home, go to Google Maps, enter the area you want to explore, select "Properties" in available search options and click "Search". Available properties are listed on the left-hand and on the map.
You can refine the search to see only those results that meet your criteria. Zooming and moving the map will automatically update the results. To find out more about the property, simply click the red marker on the map. Use "Street View" to explore the neighbourhood, take a walk and have a look around.
You can even search for nearby businesses to get a feel for the area.
You can refine the search to see only those results that meet your criteria. Zooming and moving the map will automatically update the results. To find out more about the property, simply click the red marker on the map. Use "Street View" to explore the neighbourhood, take a walk and have a look around.
What do different markers mean?
Markers appear in Google Maps property search to signify a development or a property location. For example, when you search for an address, Google Maps shows you the address location with a marker. Types of markers include:
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After you search for a property, this marker shows the location of a development, estate agent or an individual property. |
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After you search for a property, this marker shows the approximate location of a development, estate agent or an individual property. This can happen if development or property address does not have a clear marker location. |
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When you get directions, this marker shows a destination point within your route. |
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After you search for a property, these markers show all search results, not just the most relevant ones (which are indicated by larger markers). |
You can see other custom markers in Google Maps that others have created or even create your own.
Is this the end of property portals?
Syndicating thousands of properties from a large number of estate agents, property developers and private individuals, it presents a giant challenge to UK market leader Rightmove and prominent US real estate search engine Trulia.
“We want Google Maps to be a map that contains all of the world’s information. We know that many UK home buyers are already using Google Maps in their house-hunting, and by adding property listings to the map we’re putting everything together for them in one place.” Andrew Foster
Product manager at Google.
The main difference with Google’s Property Search is that it’s absolutely free for estate agents and property developers to use, while Rightmove's prime revenue model is charging them. Home owners will also be able to list their properties directly, for free using the Google Base system. If Google’s service takes off then it will become a big challenge to UK aggregators including Rightmove and Globrix.
Speculation on a possible move by Google into the UK property market started to appear on financial news websites from 2 December 2009. Although there was no new information in the story, the rumours seemed to have spooked the markets. Rightmove shares had fallen 10% the next morning.
When asked to confirm or deny these speculations, a Google property team representative responded saying "At the moment all the talk about our plans is pure speculation, as we have made no commitment to actually bring the Real Estate tab to the UK.
If we do, the model will be the same as in the US and Australia and you'll be able to upload your properties via an XML feed".
Despite Google's uncertain response, fuse8's SEO Leeds team was ahead of the game, developing feeds and integrating Google Base API for its property clients. The Google Maps Property search facility was finally launched in the UK today, but fuse8's clients were ready ahead of the announcement.
