fizber.com Introduces Drive Scores

Last week propertyportalwatch.com reported on the increasing popularity of Walk Score, which determines the walkability of any US address. This week we’ve had wind of another scoring system, this time for cars – a Drive Score.

US For Sale By Owner (FSBO) portal fizber.com has added Drive Score to their home listings. Similar to Walk Score, Drive Score shows a map of what establishments are in a property’s neighborhood and calculates a Drive Score based on the number of places within a convenient driving distance. The greater number of businesses nearby, the higher the Drive Score. This option will enable home buyers make searches with much more confidence.

Walk Score might be more environmentally friendly, and popular in high density cities, but not all homes are located in an area where the local amenities are within walking distance. Antony Fizber, CEO of Fizber.com, says that affordable homes in more secluded – and yet still desirable – areas were being overlooked.

“The fact is, some homes are simply located in an area where restaurants, libraries, grocery stores, hospitals and other businesses are easier to get to by car,” says Mr. Fizber. “Less than a mile may be a comfortable walk for a New Yorker, but for a Los Angeles resident, they may have to cross a freeway on foot in that mile, which is not convenient at all. With Drive Score, buyers can see how close establishments are by car…and more than a mile away can still be a simple five or ten minute drive. It is really very important for home buyers to be aware of nearby infrastructure to make their choice. I assume that there aren’t many people who would like to live near airport or railway taking into consideration the noise produced. Meanwhile these homes might be pretty interesting for people who travel a lot as they will definitely save money on getting to the airport or railway station.”

Drive Score also shows hospitals, gas stations, airports, train stations and a variety of shopping stores located within a particular neighborhood. Directions are available by clicking on any icon shown on the Google map. Drive Scores are included on every home listing page. When making a search, homebuyers can also switch off Drive Score parameters they don’t need, so they will get Drive Score results adjusted to their requirements.

Drive Score seems to be the simply the latest in a long line of neighbourhood applications.

1. Walk Scores Live on zillow.com

   US property valuation and portal zillow.com have announced that Walk Score’s functionality is now up and running on all home details pages on its website. ...

2. fizber.com Partners With condo.com

   For sale by owner real estate search engine fizber.com has announced a partnership with condo.com, the world's largest condo marketplace. The partnership will let buyers visiting US based fizber.com search for the latest condo listings from condo.com in their local markets and across the country....

3. WalkScore Releases iPhone App

   Not to be outdone by the many property portals releasing iPhone Apps, WalkScore have released one of their own....

4. Property Search by Transit Times

   US based civic software company Front Seat, has added an innovative new search function to its already impressive Walk Score application. The new Transit Time Maps will allow users to search a location’s transit time. This in turn opens the door for property search via commuting time....

5. Walk Score Added to US Property Searches

   The economy, health and the environment are top of most people’s list of concerns, so what and what better way to save money while improving your health and the environment than by walking? Last week at Inman Real Estate Connect in New York it was revealed that a Walk Score rating system was being added to over 85 million property listings, across several portals and real estate search engines in the US. ...