Google Real Estate

Google has integrated it's Google Base database with Google Maps in a way that will be of interest to real estate agencies, and may hurt existing sites like craigslist.com and realtor.com, and even compete with newspaper classified ads. Google Real Estate, one of many Google "products" said to be in "beta test" mode, provides a display of homes for sale in a specified region next to a map with pointers to those homes. Clicking on a pointer displays a photo and further information about the particular home.

This link takes you right to the real estate search in Google Base, which looks something like this (if you don't see the map, enter a zip code and click "Go"):


You can refine your search in several ways, to find just what you're looking for. Google Real Estate should be of interest to Realtors. It's free to them, and makes their listings available through a new source that may become popular in short order.

In order to post their listings, realtors will need a free Google Base account. They can sign in or create a new account here.