Technology and Real Estate Mashups

When it comes to real estate technology, you are helped out by mashups everyday and may not even realize it. What’s a mashup? Basically, it’s a combination of Web applications that are “mashed” together to do something totally different. In the real estate industry, mashups are most prominent in map form, such as integrating housing databases and MLS listings with maps. One of the original examples of this in the real estate industry is HousingMaps.com.

Real estate mashups not only make agents more attractive to clients, but they can also help your business, allowing to streamline functions and work more efficiently. Now comes mashups with social networks like Facebook.

Facebook:
* Adds over 100,000 users per day
* Currently >1130 discrete apps on the F8 Platform which was release in May 2007 (~95 apps a week!).
* Current user base over 24 Million (growing at a rate of 3% per week since opening network to the public in fall 2006)
* Expected to reach 50 Million active users by end of 2007
* 50% of users not in college, by end of year estimated to be 75% not in college
* 25 and older is the fastest growing demographic
* 50% of users use Facebook everyday (including yours truly)
* Recently passed eBay in daily traffic, and working on passing Google
* Number one photo sharing application on the ‘Net despite lacking features of others like Photobucket
* Facebook’s Events application more used than Evite
* Significant growth, but as yet has not rolled out a serious monetization model beyond simple ads-page.

If you’re in the real estate biz you look at this “pool” of potential candidates and drool because some of those 24M active users are likely interested in renting, buying or selling a home, right? With the new F8 platform Facebook opened up an opportunity for developers to take advantage of powerful social media and the software distribution model of the social network.

The first Real Estate application called Neighborhoods byPoint2 NLS just released a new application that allows you to identify the neighborhood you live in and see others that live around you. You can also upload community announcements and photos of your area and see all of the Point2 listings in your neighborhood, city or area.

Who is Point2 Technologies Inc.? They create software for the heavy equipment and real estate industries. They operate the internet real estate listing marketplace organized by neighborhood, Point2 Homes. They’ve developed applications that help real estate agents use the web effectively to solicit, sell and buy property in your neighborhood.

The Point2 Neighborhoods application shows you who lives close to you, what they’re up to, and what is happening in your neighborhood. In scary detail I might add so, make sure you’ve got our privacy settings appropriately set and get to know your neighbors.