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GOOGLE MAPS AUSTRALIA NOW HAS PROPERTY LISTINGS
SYDNEY, Jul 06, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) --
House hunting is about to become
less painful with property listings now available on Google
Maps.
From Monday, homebuyers will be able to find hundreds of
thousands of houses and units listed for sale or rent across
Australia through Google Maps.
Listed properties will be marked on an interactive map,
along with prices and descriptions supplied by a range of real
estate agents.
The search can be based on price range, property size or
location, and users are one click away from contacting a real
estate agent.
Google Australia product manager Andrew Foster said that up
to 87 per cent of home buyers or potential home buyers were
using the internet to search for properties and that this new
development would make the search even more effective.
"We know a lot of people come to (Google) Maps already to
research properties, they want to see where the place is ...
see what's around the area, check out streets and Street View,"
Mr Foster told AAP.
"So we think people will really start to look at these
listings a lot online within Google Maps, and then click
through to individual agency websites when they've found a
property they're after."
Google Maps has offered a real estate search tool in the
United States for some time, but Australian users will use an
interface developed by Google's local development team.
The Australian version also differs from the US version
because it includes information on rental properties.
Mr Foster said Google had worked with several real estate
bodies and agencies to compile a comprehensive and updated list
of all properties.
"When we say all, we really do mean all of the listings," he
said.
"Showing real estate listings in Google Maps will drive more
interested buyers to those property listings and this could be
a huge opportunity for the real estate industry because there's
millions of Google Maps users in Australia every day," Mr
Foster said.
The service goes online at 1500 AEST on Monday.
(AAP) rw
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