What Features Do You Wish Existed When Searching for Properties Online?

I've spent dozens of hours trawling through real estate websites for myself and friends/family, and I'm always frustrated at how primitive their map and search functionality feels.

Like how their estimated travel time to work/school is based on the current time and can't be configured, so it's completely worthless if you're browsing the site at night or on the weekend. I always end up with a dozen Google Maps tabs open, copying and pasting addresses to manually check their travel times at peak, especially annoying on a phone. Even a basic query like searching for properties with a 1 hour or less commute during peak times takes hours of manual searching and verifying, despite them having that data already.

I work as a software engineer and have built a few GIS tools over the years, have a bit of time on my hands at the moment for a side project and would like to put something together that other people might find useful. Basically a map view of properties for sale or rent with advanced geospatial filters to remove some of the grunt work involved.

For example:

  • Find properties that are less than an hour from work/school at 8am Monday etc by car/cycling/walking/PT, same with the return trip (isochrone).
  • Find properties within 1km of a train station, parks, hospitals, shopping centers etc.
  • Find properties not within 100m of train station, train tracks, transmission tower, airport etc.
  • Find properties outside of flood zones, bushfire prone area, flight path overlays etc.

What other filters or features do you wish existed when searching for properties?

Comments

  • Prices

  • +1

    Energy rating would be nice. Although not as useful since they are built to a rating and not tested (usually).

    I know in some countries every ad has the energy rating.

  • Overlay of swooping magpies hotspots. Not sure if an API is available here. https://www.wildlife.vic.gov.au/managing-wildlife/swooping-b…

  • +1

    • Plans for zebra crossings (especially if in front of your house?
    • plans for street light, especially if in front of your door.
    • Breakdown in recent crimes within postcode over previous twelve months whether youth or offender.
    • notification that any current street parking ability will be moved.
    • if house on corner, how many serious accidents, collisions or deaths rewuiring police and ambulance to attend.
    • how many times have the police had to attend the house of another resident within 200m of your property.
    • did last residents leave voluntarily?
    • if so will any of their mates be returning to either find them, stuff they left behind, expecting me to continue supplying whatever previous resident was.
    • any dead bodies buried on this property or anywhere my dog is likely to walk
    • any off leash doggy agility parks
    • and easements below, on or under land?
    • is property connected to WW loading dock
    • undercover parking for 6 cars, car parks for 4
    • hydroponic farm
    • are those really tomatoes?
    Renovation & Maintenance history
    • if your mower break down, would he lend you his mower or offer to do it himself?
    • how long until jointer fences need replacing.
    • does a rooster live on this block?
    • location of any child sex offenders, registered or not.
    • any cat ladies?
    • any cat owners who don't keep their cats inside?
    Is Halloween a popular celebration for the kiddies in this area?

    • • does a rooster live on this block?

      • any cat owners who don't keep their cats inside?

      So you don't like cocks and/or pussies? You must be fun at parties.

  • +2

    I got one simple one…..every property listed should have a price guide. The property shouldn't even be allowed to be online if there isn't one.

    • -1

      Contact the agent

      /s

  • +3

    It would be great if you could see the owner's actual asking price.

  • Overlay how far housing commission is.
    Sex offenders registry and where they are from your place - Labor voted against this.
    Crime stats in your suburb.

    • -1

      Sex offenders registry and where they are from your place - Labor voted against this.

      You can just use Tinder or Grinder nowdays? Don't click on those "horny singles in your area" ads!

  • This one is something I wish existed when I was searching, I wanted to make myself, bought a bunch of domains for… and then got caught up with other projects.

    I wish there was an website that combined reviews of the apartment/unit building (build quality, noise dampening etc) with reviews of the current strata management (responsiveness, contracted cleaning etc). It's something that both renters and owners can contribute to + you get a limited ability to aggregate ratings due to the volume of residents. Imo it at least indirectly addresses 2 of the biggest gripes people have with buying apartments.

    Obviously a bit more than an analytics/property features website but please reach out if interested OP.
    More than happy to work on it together and/or sell a bunch of domains at cost lol.

  • +4

    For units and apartments., MANDATORY disclosure of body corporate fees. And these should be available in the search filter. EG:

    Body corporate fees Less than $1,000 per quarter, less than $1,250 per quarter, and so on. Results will filter out any apartments with body corporate fees outside of that range.

    • do they not disclose them where you are?

      • In my research, some agents list them in the property description, while others don't bother. You can always call to find out, but in terms of a feature request, there is no current website capable of filtering search results in the way I suggested.

        • I guess they are doing the smoke and mirrors approach

  • I dislike that on re.com you can filter by land size for properties for sale/sold, but not for rentals.

  • filter for double storey and filter for newly built property. also year or decade in which property was built

  • Verification.

    Too many times the information is wrong and is a dealbreaker. waste of time

  • Monthly rent not weekly life style.

  • There needs to be a way to hide:
    1. student properties
    2. holiday properties in caravan parks or leased government land
    3; retirement villas
    4. any other type of land or property with a catch such as managed hotel rooms etc

    There needs to be a way to punish real estate agents and companies that display dodgy or misleading info

  • You want to be using https://www.microburbs.com.au/

    • Interesting, they seem to do 95% of what I was planning, and what people here are requesting, just at a ridiculous cost (and frankly with a crappy UI). They have an API, I'd be curious to see how much it costs

  • Where the nearest public housing is.

  • Serious response:

    The zoning of the land would be extremely useful. Particularly for rural properties.

    E.g land zoned 'Rural Living' vs 'Farming'.

    I'm sure that developers would find it very useful as well.

  • Walking distance and minutes to train station

    Total time from the property address to Flinders St Station (or a common landmark)

    Hide properties that have been ruled out from search

  • Whether the property has:
    - a dishwasher
    - grass
    - shed
    - lock up garage
    - gas or electric stove/oven

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