DOSS integrates GPT-4 into their AI-Powered Real Estate Search Marketplace, becoming the first to enable users to speak and/or text their queries
A pioneer in conversational home search, DOSS has recently unveiled the latest version of its AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace — DOSS 2.0
HOUSTON - MAY 25, 2023 -- DOSS, a pioneer in conversational home search, has recently unveiled the latest version of its AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace — DOSS 2.0. With this new release, the platform sheds its BETA label and makes its real estate search portal accessible to all users. DOSS has integrated GPT-4 directly into their code, providing an unparalleled search experience without any third-party limitations or the initial inherent constraints of the ChatGPT Plugin, which is currently available to only a limited number of users. This launch marks the first narrow domain consumer-facing platform on the web to incorporate GPT-4 while also empowering all of their users to ask questions through speech or text with an AI-Powered solution responding based on how it was engaged.
"DOSS, what is the difference between an FHA loan and a Conventional loan? Please connect me with a Loan Officer…"
Michael Ramirez, the CTO who joined DOSS in January, shared his perspective on deviating from the competition's approach of developing a plugin or extension. He stated, "I understand the rationale behind their choice, as it offers convenience and easier implementation. The DOSS team has been dedicated to advancing Conversational AI, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Natural Language Understanding (NLU), Speech to Text, and Text to Speech technologies for the real estate industry and home search since 2016. This deep expertise gives DOSS a significant advantage, positioning us perfectly to capitalize on the evolution of this technology as we enter the era of Large Language Models (LLMs). With DOSS 2.0, we harness the power of GPT-4 by directly integrating it into our code, empowering all of our users to experience and search for desired information freely and in their preferred manner with a modern use-case that has the potential to evolve home search as we know it. Our platform provides instant advice and tips, comprehensive and dynamic property search results, community and neighborhood information, proximity results, and much more, all delivered in a conversational and humanistic manner. In doing so, we eliminate the need for cumbersome filters that often yield vague results."
"DOSS, show me houses for sale in Austin, Texas under $800,000 with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, with lots of natural light, on a quiet street, with white kitchen cabinets, in zip code 78703, and zoned to Bryker Woods Elementary School."
DOSS plans to continue aggressively developing their AI-Powered platform to eventually include services such as insurance, mortgage, title, home servicing, and more to mobilize a seamless end-to-end experience for the user. Chris Norton, COO adds, "The seamless integration of GPT-4 and our proprietary image recognition and tagging system by DOSS marks a significant advancement in the real estate industry. By combining cutting-edge AI technologies in a multimodal platform, we are providing consumers with a powerful tool that is specifically designed to help them find their perfect home while ensuring they are well-informed throughout the largest purchase process of their lives. Our innovative approach demonstrates our commitment to delivering an exceptional user experience and sets the real estate industry on the path to the future. With DOSS 2.0, users can now search for properties, ask detailed questions, and receive personalized responses, all in a seamless and conversational manner. This transformative technology represents a win for consumers, as they now have access to a real estate search platform developed with their needs in mind."
"DOSS, find me a home in Houston, Texas, an area that's into art and music, priced under $500,000, and within walking distance to dog parks."
Bobby Bryant, CEO of DOSS, expressed "Our development strategy is designed to create a much sticker user experience that addresses the entire lifecycle of homeownership. At DOSS, the mission is to create the industry's best real estate marketplace to search, service, and transact all things home in the palm of your hands. We want to be more than just a destination to buy, rent, and sell real estate. Especially when you take into consideration that there are approximately 140 million homes in the United States, and only 4 to 5% are sold annually. Although that small percentage represents a $100B industry, there's a much bigger opportunity that remains largely untapped."
"DOSS, I'm thinking about selling my house. What should I focus on fixing around the house to increase the value of my home?"
In a class of its own, DOSS combines an AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace with the scalability of a Modern-Day Franchise Model. DOSS plans to provide a level of visibility for our agents and franchises that will compete with the major real estate search engines. This unique advantage is what sets DOSS apart from other real estate search engines and traditional brokerages. Many Agents at Traditional Brokerages are forced to rely on third-party platforms and service providers because their brokerage creates or provides very little-to-no technology. Because of this reality, Agents spend significant amounts of money outside of their brokerage each month to get quality leads, technology, and tools. Recognizing this challenge, DOSS has developed its own cutting-edge proprietary technology to reduce Agent dependency on third-party providers, decrease cost, increase revenue, and equip our Agents at our DOSS Home Center Franchises with the necessary tools to enhance the consumer experience.
"DOSS, what is the value of my home?"
The DOSS team is committed to upholding the true potential of technology, which is to save people time and money. The introduction of DOSS 2.0 is poised to not only deliver the best real estate search experience on the web, but also offer users a chance to receive significant savings. The challenges faced by Millennials and GenZ, such as Student Loan debt, soaring home prices, and higher interest rates, have made it increasingly difficult for them to qualify for a home. By leveraging their AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace to streamline the real estate experience, DOSS offers buyers a 1% rebate, up to $5,000, which can be utilized to reduce closing costs or lower their interest rates. Sellers, on the other hand, can list their properties on the MLS and all major real estate search portals for a modest 1% Listing Fee, all while receiving comprehensive, full-service support.
Finally, a digital real estate platform that harnesses the power of AI to offer consumers a range of options, from Do-It-Yourself to Full-Service, at a fair and competitive price point.
CLICK HERE to give our AI-Powered Real Estate Marketplace a Test Drive. Or, download Ask DOSS in the Android or iOS app store.
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Redfin Publishes Data from ClimateCheck to Help Consumers Understand the Risk for Fire, Heat, Drought and Storms Over a 30-Year Mortgage
Homebuyers and homeowners can see data for every neighborhood on Redfin.com in the contiguous U.S., representing over 94 million homes
SEATTLE, Aug. 3, 2021 -- Redfin, the technology-powered real estate brokerage, is now publishing climate risk information for every location page on its website. Visitors to Redfin.com who want to understand the climate risks for fire, heat, drought and storm over a 30-year period to any area in which they're searching for a home can now see a ClimateCheck rating from 0-100 associated with the county, city, neighborhood and zip code of the home they're considering. ClimateCheck, a company that measures an area's risk for climate-related disaster, provides the data to Redfin. Currently, this data is available everywhere in the contiguous U.S.
"A home is a huge financial investment, and these days consumers are seeing all too many examples of climate-related risks like fires, floods and heatwaves," said Redfin Chief Growth Officer Christian Taubman. "By bringing ClimateCheck's data to every location page on Redfin.com, we're making it easy for consumers to make better-informed decisions about buying, selling and renting."
ClimateCheck's ratings are based on two factors: an area's future risk, and how much that risk will change over time. The company projects future risk for climate-related hazards by using dozens of internationally accepted global climate models that assume a conservative, worst-case scenario for the continued release of CO2 into the atmosphere. ClimateCheck then personalizes these global models to the local level across the U.S. with a technique called downscaling, which combines global projections with observed local weather patterns. It projects a higher risk for areas expected to experience more dramatic changes—compared to ones already experiencing such hazards—as this reflects the challenges and cost of adjusting to climate change and the increased stress on local infrastructure.
"Consumers can now make smarter decisions when evaluating the risks of climate change," said ClimateCheck Principal Cal Inman. "Redfin is taking the global climate challenge down to the local level where people are struggling to figure out the consequences of dramatic weather and climate events."
Many Americans are factoring climate change into their decisions about where to live, according to a survey Redfin conducted earlier this year. About half of respondents who plan to move in the next year said extreme temperatures and/or the increasing frequency or intensity of natural disasters played a role in their decision to relocate. Another one-third of people said rising sea levels played a role for them. Out of the 2,000 respondents surveyed, nearly 80% said that increasing frequency or intensity of natural disasters in an area would make them hesitant to buy a home there. A slightly lower share—about three-quarters—would be hesitant to buy a home in a place with extreme temperatures and/or rising sea levels. Furthermore, more than one-third of homeowners surveyed have spent at least $5,000 fortifying their homes against climate threats.
About Redfin
Redfin is a technology-powered real estate broker, instant home-buyer (iBuyer), lender, title insurer, and renovations company. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,100 people.
About ClimateCheck
ClimateCheck enables consumers to instantly assess property risk driven by climate change. ClimateCheck's team of scientists and advisors combine historic data and climate models to produce a hyper-local risk assessment of all hazards for every property in the United States.
Visit www.climatecheck.com for your instant, free assessment.
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ATTOM Data Solutions Integrates Enhanced Boundary Data into Its U.S. Property Data Warehouse
Boundaries for 155 Million U.S. Parcels Joined to Assessor, Recorder, Community Data; Includes 67,000 School Attendance Zone Boundaries, 166,000 Neighborhood Boundaries
IRVINE, Calif. – December 17, 2018 — ATTOM Data Solutions, curator of the nation's premier property database, today announced it has integrated expanded boundary data into its U.S. property data warehouse.
The expanded boundary data features parcel boundaries for 135 million U.S. parcels along with school attendance zone boundaries for more than 67,000 schools in more than 13,000 school districts and neighborhood boundaries for more than 166,000 neighborhoods.
"Accurate parcel boundaries offer an essential location component that's ideal for property research and we are excited to now include this data as a complement to the foundational tax, deed, mortgage and neighborhood data in the ATTOM Data Warehouse," said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM Data Solutions. "We've made some key strategic moves over the past few months to obtain the best boundary data available and fully integrate it into our data warehouse so that we can provide a one-stop shop for clients that want to combine these datasets."
Parcel boundary sample data available upon request
The parcel boundary data is available in a bulk file format adhering to the industry standard ESRI shape data. ATTOM offers two versions of the parcel boundary data: An Essential version that includes the shape file data for the parcel boundaries along with basic tax assessor information for each parcel; and the Plus version with additional assessor information for each parcel including beds, baths, square footage, year built, lot size, most recent sale date and amount, and much more.
"We've included basic assessor property data in our standard parcel boundary file because most use cases benefit from some level of assessor data," said Todd Teta, chief technology officer at ATTOM Data Solutions. "We also include our unique ATTOM ID for every parcel so that additional data from the ATTOM Data Warehouse such as sales history, mortgage and foreclosure data, or natural hazard risk can easily be joined with the parcel boundaries."
A prebuilt sample file of parcel boundary data with embedded assessor data is available upon request.
Request sample parcel boundaries file
School and neighborhood boundary data available in bulk and API
The schools, neighborhood and other geographic area boundary data is available in both bulk file format as well as via API. These boundary datasets can be combined with each other and with ATTOM's property and neighborhood data to create powerful analytics and applications for end-users:
Identify which school attendance zone a specific home is in
Search for all homes within a specific school attendance zone
Find neighborhoods that overlap with school district boundaries
Create neighborhood profiles based on school scores, crime rates, property characteristics
Enable home search by neighborhood
And many more
"Real estate consumer search is increasingly centered around schools and neighborhoods, making it increasingly important for companies providing a consumer-focused product, software or app to enable search by neighborhood and school attendance zone," said Jeff Metcalf, product manager at ATTOM Data Solutions. "We're also seeing other innovative applications of the parcel, school and neighborhood boundary data beyond just real estate consumer search, and making this data available to our clients will help fuel more disruption across myriad real estate-related verticals, including insurance underwriting and claims management, urban planning and zoning, real estate development, new home construction, and many others."
Learn more about school attendance zone boundaries
Learn more about neighborhood boundaries
About ATTOM Data Solutions
ATTOM Data Solutions provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes and enhances the data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 9TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, APIs, market trends, marketing lists, match & append and more.
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Onboard Informatics Launches Neighborhood Navigator 2.0 WordPress Plug-In
The plug-in offers WordPress users quicker and easier access to the robust information and lead generation tools in Neighborhood Navigator 2.0
NEW YORK (NOVEMBER 28, 2017) - Onboard Informatics, the leading provider of real estate information, launched a suite of WordPress plugins to support its flagship product, Neighborhood Navigator (Nav 2.0) today. The plugin lets WordPress users link directly to Onboard's premium local content and lead generation tools with minimal development time and effort.
Nav 2.0 has three plug-ins designed to achieve specific business objectives. The first, Nav, pulls in data from Onboard's multiple APIs to display the most popular information in real estate: public and private school information, community demographics, market trends and local amenities. Each section is displayed in an elegant report and gives users the ability to navigate any area in the country.
Nurture is the second plugin. It is a lead generation extension that emails a comprehensive property report when a visitor submits an email address. Leads generated from Nurture are automatically emailed neighborhood updates twice a month with the latest local information from their area. Users of the Nurture plugin will get every lead generated and will have their contact information featured on all outgoing emails.
The third plugin, Lead, simply allows online visitors to submit their contact information and specify their preferred method of communication. Combined, these three plugins create the full Nav 2.0 product. WordPress users have the flexibility use these plugins together or separately based on their preferences and business objectives.
Onboard Informatics Senior Product Manager Dean Soukeras says that while this Plugin Suite is a great start, he hopes to have many more plugins available in 2018. "It's all about making the data we have easier to access and use to improve your business," said Soukeras. "If you have a WordPress website, which many in real estate and finance do, plugins are a fantastic way to do that."
Developers could already work with Onboard Informatics APIs through the Developer Platform, but introducing a suite of WordPress plugins makes it easier for any creator to speed up the process of getting local information and lead capture tools on a website.
"Onboard has been supplying critical information to the real estate community for over 15 years," said Onboard Informatics Co-Founder and CEO Marc Siden. "We know the data is important for people buying and selling a home. We are now focused on how we can improve delivery, so clients can use our data quicker, better, and more effectively. WordPress plugins are a natural extension of our main priority, which is making the best information in real estate easily and readily available."
Each plug-in in the Nav 2.0 Suite is mobile-compatible, offering online visitors the same experience regardless of where they view it.
If you are interested in seeing how to use the Nav 2.0 Suite, register for our upcoming demonstration on Wednesday, November 29. Even if you can't attend, register and Onboard Informatics will email you a copy of the recording.
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Onboard Informatics Launches a Fresh New Look and a Third Bar for their Signature Product, Neighborhood Navigator 2.0
The New and Improved Nav 2.0 features elegant design and a new way to capture more leads
NEW YORK (OCTOBER 18, 2017) - Onboard Informatics, the leader in real estate information, announced today the fresh look of Nav 2.0, a web-based product that uses reports on the most valuable information in real estate to capture and nurture leads. Onboard launched Nav 2.0 earlier this year. The updated colors and bar is a reaction to feedback from the real estate market where consumers are looking for dynamic online content that captures their attention.
"The rising expectations of real estate consumers calls for a new level of presentation. It goes beyond accurate, instant data which is essential. Today's consumers also want clean, elegant design that makes the information easy to digest, understand, and use," said Senior Product Manager Dean Soukeras. "That's what we've achieved with this latest design of Neighborhood Navigator 2.0."
In addition to the new design, the updated Nav 2.0 includes a third bar. When Nav 2.0 launched earlier this year, it was made up of the "Nav Bar" and the "Nurture Bar." Together they engaged online visitors, converted those visitors to leads, and nurtured them with content they cared about until they were ready to take action. This latest release now includes a "Lead Bar" to capture online visitors who are ready to speak to an agent immediately.
"We are very excited about the new look and new bar in Nav 2.0," said Marc Siden, CEO and Co-Founder of Onboard Informatics. "The robust information it offers real estate consumers to better understand a local area or neighborhood is key to a successful real estate process. If we can help our clients identify those visitors who are ready to act immediately, it will only make this product more valuable. Every improvement we make is around driving more quality home buyer and seller leads for our clients."
The evolution of Nav 2.0 is reflected in these improvements, which conveys the agent not only as a local area expert, but also a professional, trustworthy source of this type of information. The bright, modern design is inviting and engaging for visitors and offers a more comprehensive understanding of the critical information presented.
The new design is reflected not only in the online community reports, but in the ongoing neighborhood alerts sent on behalf of the client. These emails are deployed twice a month on behalf of each client so they can automatically and easily stay in contact with digital leads using relevant, updated content.
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Onboard Informatics Revolutionizes API Developer Platform for Real Estate
'Onboard API' now has more flexible payment options, new data sets, and easier, risk-free access to information on every property and community in the country
NEW YORK, NY (JULY 09, 2017) - Onboard Informatics today makes it even easier for developers to create next-generation real estate solutions with the relaunch of OnboardAPI.
This single gateway enables partners to access a diverse range of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for critical real estate information like property information, value estimates, market trends, points of interest, and key demographics. The platform now also includes property owner and mortgage information.
The robust APIs, developed at the company's headquarters in New York, will help partners build, scale and enable tomorrow's real estate solutions. To make this as easy as possible, OnboardAPI is also introducing a new pay-for-what-you-use payment option for early developers. While they continue to offer free access to build solutions, now innovators and entrepreneurs will be able to launch their products without committing to expensive annual contracts. The pay-for-what-you-use model is based on a fixed cost per API call and allows those starting a new business to ramp up without a heavy upfront investment.
"We've always been proud of our Developer Platform," said Jonathan Bednarsh, President of Onboard Informatics. "This relaunch solidifies our commitment to enable our clients and partners along with their developers to innovate and grow their business. We want to empower the next big thing in real estate– not stand in the way. OnboardAPI allows us to do just that."
Partners can easily connect and integrate with four categories of APIs: property, community, points of interest and area. All data can be cross-referenced for easier search functionality and can be accessed through a single API key. The broad categories of data include robust datasets like Property Value Estimates, Owner Data, and over 5 million public and private establishments. All data can be linked to premium boundaries by zip code, city, state, neighborhood or residential subdivision.
"Instead of people spending time aggregating data, OnboardAPI allows them to focus on building their applications while offering a consistent interface to the data," said Kevin Mattice, Senior Product Manager. "This platform gives people the flexibility to pull the data they need, instead of sorting through bulk data in different formats. With the new pricing option, it is now easier than ever to get what you need and only pay for what you use."
The new OnboardAPI provides a streamlined experience and clear, developer-friendly interactive documentation. This year, the platform has enjoyed double the traffic from 2016 and increased registrations 41 percent.
If you are interested in finding more about the platform, Onboard is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, July 12 to review the basics. Register and learn more about the webinar here.
Key API Categories in OnboardAPI
Property:
Property Details
Recent Home Sales History
Recent Home Valuations
Owner and Mortgage Details
Area:
Neighborhood / Metro / Residential Boundaries
Core Based Statistical Area
Counties in a State
WKT and KML formats
Points of Interest:
Restaurants, Banks, Shopping and More
Search by Address, Lat / Long and Area
14 Business categories
120 lines of business types
Community:
Crime, Population and Education
Weather stats and averages
Commute Times
Search by Area
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Back to School Brings New Features in School Information
Break out the apples and the new backpacks – it's Back to School time! In an effort to provide the best of the best in local information, Onboard is upgrading the school reviews and ratings we offer. We've partnered with two comprehensive ratings sources, Niche and School Digger.
These respected providers will give our clients the opportunity to showcase more school information than ever before, which is important. According to Realtor's 2014 Home Buyer and Seller Trends, 42% of homebuyers under 43 consider the local schools before buying a home.
Enhancements to the school package include:
Additional ratings including college prep, sports, facilities, and technology as well as million of school reviews, dozens of statistical factors, and thousands more school ratings to give visitors a better idea of the overall culture and environment of a school.
20 years of enrollment data, several years of test scores, crime data, and real estate data so you understand a school beyond the current snapshot
27 million opinions and reviews from students and parents
Year over year rankings by state, test score, enrollment, free lunch percentage, student ethnicity, and number of full-time teachers so you can see where the school's performance is trending and where it's likely to go in the coming years
When the upgrade is compete, clients will be able to offer a more dynamic, interactive and thorough picture of a given school or district that will truly add value for prospects.
If you are interested in finding out more about our school package, contact us today.
To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.
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Onboard Informatics Partners with Maponics
NEW YORK, NY (JULY 29, 2015)--Onboard Informatics®, a leading provider of technology and services that enable companies to grow revenue through easy access to local information, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Maponics to incorporate Maponics® boundaries into Onboard's full range of products and services.
Maponics, a leading provider of boundary-based spatial data, has the largest database ever compiled for neighborhood and school attendance zone boundaries. Integrating databases of this caliber and scope will enhance Onboard's entire offering.
"Onboard brings together the biggest and best data providers to foster innovation, growth, and profitability for our clients. This partnership simplifies access to local information for clients of both Onboard and Maponics," said Jonathan Bednarsh, Onboard President and COO. "By incorporating Maponics boundaries, the industry standard, clients can access the best in the entire spectrum of local information from a single resource."
Onboard has the most comprehensive set of interlinked local data on the market. The partnership with Maponics will enable businesses using local information in their websites, software applications, or internal applications to expand search capabilities for all the local information Onboard offers, including public records, properties, demographics, community information, amenities, and more.
"Maponics boundaries will connect to all the local information available at Onboard, which is a huge scope," said Scott Petronis, Onboard Chief Product Officer. "The real-world mapping capabilities of Maponics data will enable search at an even more granular level than what we offer today. Through this partnership, companies can improve the web and mobile search results, features, and capabilities of their current platform. It's bringing together the best in local data with the best of boundaries – and pulling together the best of the best in local information is what Onboard is all about."
Maponics boundaries enable business-owners, marketers, and other professionals to get an accurate view of defined geographies and target market areas. The partnership will enable more businesses with the best in boundaries and local information so they can take their business to the next level, increase customer loyalty and satisfaction and ultimately, drive revenue.
"Maponics is focused on continually improving our capabilities to develop the most complete and relevant boundary datasets available to the market. Part of this strategy is ensuring usability and accessibility for end-users are as good as they can be. This partnership with Onboard allows Maponics to maintain our core focus while improving access to our entire boundary product line" said Maponics CEO Dan Adams.
Details about the rollout are still being developed, however both companies are optimistic that Maponics boundaries will be available through Onboard before the end of the year beginning with Maponics Neighborhood Boundaries™ and quickly followed by other popular datasets including Maponics School Attendance Zone Boundaries™, Maponics Carrier Route Boundaries™, Maponics +Residential Boundaries™ and ultimately, the entire suite of boundary products that Maponics currently offers.
Visit http://www.onboardinformatics.com for more information.
About Onboard
Onboard Informatics' technology and services enable companies to grow revenue by easily accessing the best in local information. Since 2001, top real estate, media, financial, and technology companies have used this intelligent local information to improve their business, enhance their websites, build better applications, or simply pass onto their customers. Businesses from nearly every sector with a need for quality, consolidated, intelligent local information turn to Onboard.
For more information on what local information can do for your business, or to request a demo, visit http://www.onboardinformatics.com.
About Maponics
Maponics maps areas of interest. The company specializes in the creation of spatial data through the careful collection and analysis of data from qualified, private and government sources. The products Maponics delivers provide customers with real-world boundaries and details about populations of interest. By merging technology and data, it creates innovative products built on real-world location. For more information, please visit http://www.maponics.com.
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Community Data Enhancements and Columbus, Ohio
This summer, Onboard Informatics is making enhancements to the information most critical to our clients' customers starting with our Community Data. Today, Onboard provides over 350 attributes in its Community API. This summer's update adds ancestry data, languages spoken, household net worth, projection data and historical data to our Community Data offering.
I'm pretty excited about these enhancements, but that's because I love data. As a Product Manager at Onboard, I get the opportunity to dig into our data on a daily basis and find the stories buried inside.
I also have a soft spot for technology and follow several blogs that tell stories of the latest tech startups. Lately, I find myself reading about Columbus a lot. Yep, that city in Ohio.
The Midwest is rarely seen as a hot spot for tech jobs with many technologists flocking to either coast, but entrepreneurs are everywhere and Columbus is proving to be quite a force.
Forbes named Columbus the Number 1 Opportunity City saying: "Modern Columbus has emerged as a technologically sophisticated city."
Even the state government is pitching in to encourage new ventures; they created the Ohio Third Frontier which provides funding to early stage technology companies.
I thought this was a great opportunity for me to dive in to Onboard's newest Community Data and learn what Columbus is all about. I put together this infographic to show what I discovered:
Columbus, Ohio as described by some of our Community Data's newest attributes
There are all kinds of interesting things you can explore with Onboard's Community API. Keep an eye out, I'll be sharing another implementation utilizing the latest enhancements in a couple weeks.
To view the original post, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.
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Walk Score Launches Score Details Report
We're excited to launch a new way to help you understand your Walk Score. The Score Details Report explains the Walk Score of a location and shows which categories are more or less walkable. For example, a home or apartment might have great walkability for restaurants and shopping but not for parks and schools.
More Accurate Scores
Last year, with our 2014 City and Neighborhood Rankings, we launched our "Street Smart" Walk Score methodology. We've started rolling this more accurate methodology out to every address. To do this, we've analyzed over 300 billion walking routes to update the Walk Score for 1.5 billion locations.
Updated scores and the Score Details Report are available today on all of our apartment and rental listings and will be coming to your address soon. If you'd like your Score Details Report and updated score, just Tweet @walkscore with your address and we'll send you a link.
How Does "Street Smart" Walk Score Work?
For each location, "Street Smart" Walk Score computes the walkability of an address by calculating hundreds of walking routes to nearby places, measuring the depth of choice in each category (e.g. restaurant choice), analyzing pedestrian friendliness, and using the best local data including tens of thousands of places added by the Walk Score community.
For walkable neighborhoods (pictured above on the left), our "Street Smart" methodology does a better job distinguishing between walkable and very walkable places. Getting a high score requires depth of choice — for example, the ability to walk to a large number of restaurants. In walkable neighborhoods, scores will be similar or may increase.
For less walkable neighborhoods (pictured above on the right), scores may decrease because walking routes are longer and pedestrian friendliness is lower (measured by urban planning metrics such as average block length and intersection density).
Thanks to all the people in all the bright places on the map above who have looked up their Walk Score! As always, please send us your feedback!
To view the original article, visit the WalkScore blog.
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Onboard Informatics Announces the Next Generation of Listings API Platform
A while back, we shared some updates regarding our Listings Search Engine 1.2 API. Today, I am excited to announce the next generation of our Listings API platform is now live.
We've offered the Listings Search Engine API since 2008, but what makes this update significant is that it makes our Next Gen Platform the first API to integrate listings data with advanced search capabilities and value-added content.
To break it down, the Next Gen of Onboard Informatics' API Listings Platform offers impressively advanced search, filter and sort capabilities. It enables users to search using hundreds of different filters including standard listing fields and advanced lifestyle content. Results may then be sorted using 25 different fields including distance from a desired starting point, nearby transit, local school ratings, neighborhood names, and more. This enables visitors to find a home within a desired commute time, within a proximity to a bus station or other transit, or even based on school attendance zones. The Next Gen relates all of this information together with the more traditional details like the number of beds, baths, and the price so users can better understand a piece of property in the context of its surrounding area.
Aside from unprecedented search capabilities, The Next Gen Platform of our API Listings Platform is one of the only APIs that provides real-time access to such a wide breadth of listings. With its entirely new back end, this API automatically updates listings multiple times a day using RETS with over 100 MLSs, offering the most recent listings as well as the most recent listing changes.
Another value added benefit of the Next Gen API Listings platform is the enhanced image capabilities. It's now possible to pull original, high-resolution photos for any property at full scale with no changes or modifications.
By improving the content and technology behind the Onboard Listings API Platform consumers can tailor their home search experience to their specific wants and needs. We're very excited with the recent changes and even more excited to be introducing the Next Gen Platform to the market. If you're interested in giving this a try and seeing it for yourself, reach out to us today.
To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.
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Onboard Informatics Updates Listings Search Engine API 1.2
For over five years, Onboard has been offering our "Listings Search Engine" API as a way for innovative companies to access IDX data without the management and maintenance hassles. Over that time we've tried to keep up with changes in the market and the various ways consumer want to interact with listings data. For the past few months we've been working on a number of updates that I'd like to share; but first, a little background.
Onboard's listings API was the first-ever API in the industry to provide real-time access to listings with a comprehensive search layer built in. When we initially launched the product (Beta in October 2008 and Commercial launch in June of 2009) we had a pretty basic set of capabilities and an even more basic understanding of what developers really wanted to do with it. Many years and some ups and downs later the API has evolved just as technology and the industry has overall.
This latest release brings together a collection of client requests plus some newly available data and new Onboard capabilities to push things forward once again.
One thing we've learned is that consumers like to search in some pretty ordinary ways typically. But they like to filter and sort results in some very unique ways once that have a set of listings. So we've made some improvements to both the data and capabilities on this front. There are now 25 different fields that can be used for filtering and sorting search results including things like distance from a desired starting point, distance to nearest transit, neighborhood name, average school rating and even specific school name in addition to the typical beds, baths, price and more. This flexibility will allow developers to create a simple up front search while still putting power into users' hands once they have a set of results.
Another thing we've heard plenty is that consumers want to see BIG photos. So we've addressed that too. It's now possible to pull original, high-resolution photos for any property that has quality photos. These images are full scale with no modifications so the client application or browser will need to deal with scaling. Images do get very large, but they will certainly provide a wow factor for high-def sites.
We've made changes to nearly every search method as well. It's now easier to find listings that have had a price change, status change or an open house coming up. Users will now be able to more easily search using lifestyle content such as school attendance zones and districts; nearby transit, parks and schools; specific neighborhoods; along with existing features like search based on commute time.
We've also streamlined the API lookups to provide more information in each response. For example, it's now simple to find out how many listings there are in a specific neighborhood, city, school district or attendance zone. Or what geographic areas have active listings within a certain MLS. These types of lookups help to create a rich user experience to guide consumers down paths where you know there will be answers.
A lot of the work we've done in this release has really been about refining the experience with the API and the data. Great relationships plus open dialog yields positive results. I hope those of you that check it out will agree!
I've covered the highlights but please feel free to reach out to us for more details, We're happy to walk through it with you so you can see for yourself.
To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.
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Onboard Informatics introduces School Attendance Zones
Today, Onboard Informatics provides advanced details, ratings, and reviews for 125,000+ public, private, parochial, charter and online schools. Our clients can choose to display over 100 types of School Information on their sites. But what if buyers want to determine which school their children will go to when they move?
We've been working diligently over the past few months to provide just that. School Attendance Zones are geographic boundaries that define the areas that "belong" to each school so you can visualize coverage areas for a district/school and determine a specific home will go to school A or school B.
There are many potential uses for differentiating your search experience with School Attendance Zones, some of which we've outlined below. Stay tuned here for more in the coming months, though please reach out if you'd like to start a conversation about delivering the most comprehensive School Information on the market.
To view the original post, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.
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The Active Enterprise Network Partners with Onboard Informatics to Form 10 Lifestyle Searches in 10 Weeks
May 9, 2011 – New York, NY. In an effort to drive lifestyle search to the forefront of the real estate industry, The Active Enterprise Network, will be participating in the Enterprise Network Challenge: 10 Lifestyle Searches in 10 Weeks in which their technology partner, Active Website, launches the lifestyle search engine on a different member’s site each week.
Stemming from their extended partnership with Onboard Informatics, Enterprise Network members now have access to the necessary data needed for lifestyle search, an innovative search tool that gives customers a personalized search experience on real estate websites. Through this new lifestyle search engine, customers will be able to search for homes based on parameters most important to them. Whether that’s family-friendly areas or homes close to highly rated schools, nightlife or shopping, the system will match each user’s requirements with a targeted list of ideal communities in the area.
Using a sliding scale, customers have the option to rank how important each criteria is to their particular needs and lifestyle. The system then finds neighborhoods that best fit their criteria and showcases available homes in the area. Once they’ve found their ideal community, customers can narrow their search based on number of beds and baths, square footage, price range and more.
Remaining on the cutting edge of innovation, many members have already chosen to implement lifestyle search on their site. The first member to adopt this feature is Residential Properties, LTD. Based in Providence, RI, Residential Properties has been serving the Rhode Island Real Estate market for over 30 years and was a great first candidate for the launch of this product. Through the latest search technology, Residential Properties is able to further enrich the user experience and gain a competitive advantage in the industry.
“There is a lot of competition on the web, so finding new ways to differentiate yourself from the competition is crucial to the success of your business. Through lifestyle search, not only are members providing a service that the competition doesn’t offer, but they’re able to engage the customer and increase the likelihood that they will buy or sell a home from them in the future. Typically, when an agent meets with a client they’re asking important questions such as “How important are schools for you?” or “Would you rather live in an urban setting or in the suburbs?” and so on. However, these same questions are not often addressed online. Lifestyle search bridges this gap and offers a unique approach for a more positive experience for our users,” states Ido Zucker, Managing Partner at Active Website.
The search parameters within the lifestyle search engine are based on over a decade of Onboard’s experiencedeveloping Best Places to Live solutions for top publishers such as CNN/Money, U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek. To ensure accuracy of the search results, the search engine combines millions of data points ranging from population demographics to housing trends to local points of interest and more.
Due to the complex functionality required to power lifestyle search accurately and efficiently, it is reserved for elite companies only. Through Active Website’s technology, coupled with data provided by Onboard, members are able to engage customers more than ever before.
“It is Onboard’s goal to provide compelling content and powerful tools that allow homebuyers to search for homes based on what is important in their lives -beyond the physical needs of the home. Lifestyle search not only accomplishes that, but also engages the visitor and keeps them coming back to the site, providing the differentiation that The Active Enterprise Network is seeking,” states Marc Siden, CEO, Onboard Informatics. “We are pleased to work with a network that understands the importance of providing consumers with tools and information they want.”
To see the enhanced features offered through the lifestyle search engine, visit Residential Properties at www.residentialproperties.com. Be sure to visit Active Website’s blog over the next several weeks as they track the progress of these releases as well.
About The Active Enterprise Network
The Active Enterprise Network member base is by invitation only. Comprised solely of private real estate firms, The Enterprise Network does not accept national brands and only works with one company per marketplace. This exclusivity allows for open collaboration and sharing of information within The Network, free from any conflict of interest. The goal for members under The Enterprise Network umbrella is to address the technology demands that are emerging in today’s changing real estate market. Together, Enterprise Network members can make the best decisions concerning implementation of systems and solutions, ultimately leveraging everyone to higher levels of business.
About Onboard Informatics
Since 2001, Onboard Informatics has provided comprehensive local, regional and national real estate data solutions, powerful Web tools and Web services to some of the most innovative companies in the real estate, publishing, and technology. Onboard delivers seamless integration of property listings, community, school, neighborhood, geographic and demographic information to support clients in achieving business objectives on Web and mobile platforms. Privately held since its founding, Onboard is located in the heart of the world’s financial center in the Wall Street area of New York City.
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Onboard Informatics Launches Lifestyle Search Widget
March 15, 2010 – New York, NY. Onboard Informatics, the premier data and technology services provider to top-tier real estate, media and technology companies, has launched a widget extension of their Lifestyle Search Engine. Lifestyle Search, an innovative home search tool that helps real estate brands create a unique and comprehensive search experience on their sites, allows consumers to find their “best place to live.”
The Lifestyle Search Engine Widget, originally launched exclusively to members at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Annual Convention last week in Las Vegas, allows home buyers the ability to search for neighborhoods based on their needs and wants such as excellent schools, family friendly areas, fun and hip areas, great areas for golfers, proximity to everyday conveniences, and pet friendly areas, within their price range.
The Lifestyle Search widget is affordable and easily embedded on any website or blog engaging the buyers, keeping them on sites longer and boosting lead generation by providing information they demand. The widget can also be attached to Onboard’s community and school profiles and used alongside listings search.
The Lifestyle Search widget was born from a need for a scalable, easy-to-implement version of Onboard’s industry-leading Lifestyle Search Engine which is currently being used by companies such as Coldwell Banker Real Estate, New York Daily News, EXIT Realty, and First Team Real Estate.
“After large companies began adopting Lifestyle Search and customizing it for their brand, we saw a need to deliver this to larger segments of the market,” said Marc Siden, CEO of Onboard Informatics. “Now real estate companies that may not have development resources to build out the API version of Lifestyle Search can still deliver a clear picture of neighborhoods that match buyers’ needs. Consumers have been searching for homes based on their lifestyle needs for decades, so this concept isn’t new; it’s just new to the internet.”
The search parameters within Onboard’s Lifestyle Search Engine are based on a decade of experience developing Best Places to Live solutions for top publishers such as CNN/Money, U.S. News & World Report, and BusinessWeek. Onboard tapped its comprehensive data center comprised of neighborhood, school, points of interest, listings, and home sales information to create indexes that appeal to buying segments. Results are based on information buyers weigh on a scale from most important to not important.
About Onboard Informatics
Since 2001, Onboard Informatics has provided comprehensive local, regional and national real estate data solutions, powerful Web tools and Web services to some of the most innovative companies in the real estate, publishing, and technology. Onboard delivers seamless integration of property listings, community, school, neighborhood, geographic and demographic information to support clients in achieving business objectives on Web and mobile platforms. Privately held since its founding, Onboard is located in the heart of the world’s financial center in the Wall Street area of New York City. For more information about Onboard Informatics visit www.onboardinformatics.com.
Media Contact: Stacey RetOnboard InformaticsPhone: 646-747-4395Email: [email protected]
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