Google Street View for Real Estate
Jan 21, 2009
2 Comments
Google Street View is a new feature of Google Maps that allows you to quickly and easily view and navigate high-resolution, 360 degree street level images of various cities around the world.
Many questions about properties, neighbors, and neighborhoods cannot be fully answered by information provided in the listing. Street view, by Google Maps, is a convenient tool to help answers many of those questions.
WARNING: Street view is not a real-time application and photos may no longer accurately represent the current property.
What are ways real estate agents may use Google Maps Street View?
- Map Showings / Choose Routes
Get familiar with your showing routes and neighborhood homes. - Preview Homes
Identify external features your clients are looking for. Use the overhead map view to check out the backyard. - Service Out-of-Town Clients
Street View is perfect for out-of-town clients not familiar with the area. Send clients links to various areas; allow them to browse homes and develop a realistic expectation. - Check out the Neighbors
How well are neighbors maintaining their homes? Are there cars in the front yard on blocks? - Evaluate Safety
Get a sense of how safe the front yard is for kids, or even check out the local speed limit.
http://maps.google.com/
Good post! I think real estate agents don’t leverage the Web as much as they could. Goolgle Maps Street view, is a great oppurtunity for their clients to get familar with the area before they actually tour a property.
Definitely a good tip. As soon as this feature became available, we embedded Google Street Maps (and Google Maps), so that our subscribers at Real Capital Analytics (http://www.rcanalytics.com) can see the location and appearance of recent commercial property sales. The occasional UPS truck gets in the way (see http://tinyurl.com/bb9yxo), but otherwise, Google’s maps and photos are terrific. Plus they’ve expanded their global coverage quickly — our non-US clients appreciate that.