WebProNews

Realtors have had a hard time these past six or so months; as the housing market crashed, the competition for buyers grew fierce.  Now Google's making things even more interesting by introducing a real estate search option on the main page of Google Maps.

Just ask Google Maps to "Show more search options," select the real estate preference, and have at it.  Unlike other features that get rolled out bit by bit, this tool seems to work in all areas of the country.  Don't expect omniscience - not every house with a sale sign in the front yard is showing up - but a reasonable number of listings should always appear.

 Google Maps Looks At Real Estate

These listings can be sorted by price or their number of bedrooms or bathrooms.  Search results also include pictures, and although Google ignores the matter of square footage, you can click through to the original listings on Google Base or various real estate sites.  All in all, the Google Maps feature is quite handy, although perhaps not up to the level of dedicated real estate tools.

Ionut Alex Chitu notes, "Many real estate sites use Google Maps API and the first Google Maps mashup was HousingMaps, a site that displays Craigslist housing listings on a map.  Last month, Trulia was one of the first sites that integrated Google Street View 'to add efficiency to the real estate search experience and help home buyers discover more information about particular neighborhoods.'"

Regardless, it looks like Google decided to tackle the problem on its own terms.  Realtors, beware.