TomTom Enters Online Mapping

TomTom, known for its popular GPS, has launched an online mapping solution.

TomTom Route Planner is free and allows door-to-door directions to be mapped for the US and Canada. Of interest to the real estate industry is that it will compete with MapQuest and Google Maps. Some property portals already supply driving directions to properties, in addition to map based search.

The online maps are currently in beta but already have the benefit of TomTom’s live traffic information, smart routing, and “Map Share” daily improvements to accuracy.

In a statement about the Route Planner’s launch, Harold Goddijn, TomTom’s chief executive officer said: “The introduction of the online Route Planner marks an important step in our strategy to make our award-winning navigation available for all users, regardless of the platform that is used. Users who do not have a navigation device can now also benefit from our high-quality routing”.

Depending on the success and feedback from the beta programme, the TomTom online Route Planner will gradually be rolled out to users worldwide.

Only last week propertyportalwatch.com reported on the area of online mapping hotting up, with redfin.com choosing Google Maps over Microsoft’s Virtual Earth.

Meanwhile Google is facing further trouble with its popular but controversial Street View application. A group of Japanese lawyers and professors have asked Google to close down its Street View feature of Google Maps in the country.

redfin.com Switches from Microsoft to Google

Online real estate broker redfin.com has released a new version of their website.

The updates include tweaks like making the neighbourhood pages more discoverable.

One of the biggest changes is the maps. They have made the decision to stop using Microsoft Virtual Earth, and have switched to Google Maps.



On the corporate blog the company says:

“We decided to do this now because our two-year contract with Microsoft was up for renewal. We did an evaluation and figured out a way to draw a large number of pushpins on GMaps very quickly. When we went with VE in 2006, GMaps was faster out of the box but slower once we started drawing on it, especially on IE6.”

“We really only have good things to say about VE. Anyone looking to build a map-based Web 2.0 site has two solid choices.”

“In the end, it was speed, speed, speed that convinced us to switch. In our worst case scenario of 500 pushpins on the map in IE6, GMaps is 385% faster.”

With maps now an integral feature of the property search experience, property portals have a choice between several providers - Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, MapQuest, and more.

The Future of Real Estate Marketing blog did a quick analysis of the Hitwise top real estate websites and found that four of them use Virtual Earth (realtor.com, zillow.com, ziprealty.com and realtytrac.com), compared to three using Google (trulia.com, homegain.com and remax.com). Yahoo! Real Estate was the only one using Yahoo! maps, and rent.com uses MapQuest.

redfin.com also says a more major release is in the pipeline from the company early next year, so stay tuned.

redfin.com Upgrades and Cuts Prices

Late last week online real estate broker redfin.com announced changes to its home-buying and home-selling services, and upgrades to its website.

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redfin.com Shuts Down Sweet Digs Blogs

Last week redfin.com shut down its Sweet Digs blogs in San Francisco, Boston, San Diego and Orange County. These local blogs were a long running experiment in social media for the online brokerage website.

On the Orange County version of the blog, the company announced that rather than vanish altogether, the blogs will undergo changes that include focusing the format “on proprietary, leading-edge indicators of what is happening to home prices”.

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman wrote:

“We had initially tried to provide a personal review of individual homes for sale in the area, but as a broker and an MLS member, we were not in an ideal position to be objective about other brokers’ properties. Since Sweet Digs was so local, it was also hard to keep pace with Redfin’s growth across the U.S.”

It’s not the only controversy that has plagued this foray into the blogosphere.

In June 2007, the redfin.com Seattle real estate blog was shut down after agents complained to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service that the home reviews were hurting sales. It returned in a modified state, but will be modified once again with new blogs starting this week.

redfin.com say the new format will largely focus on what they do best: “hard data, delivered in a freakishly compelling way”.

Winners and Losers from the Global Financial Crisis

Top property portal sites around the world have announced layoffs.  What does the global financial crisis mean for the rest of the property portals?  Who will be the winners and losers?

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redfin.com Announces Staff Layoffs While trulia.com Stays Optimistic

redfin.com, the first online brokerage for residential real estate in the US, is clearly feeling the pinch.

The company has announced on its blog that it has laid off around 20% of their staff.   This announcement follows closely on the heals of zillow.com announcing that it was laying off 25% of its staff.  

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