Rightmove has introduced a new search tool, Draw-a-Search, to its website that means home hunters can search for property outside conventional postcodes.
Draw-a-Search allows people to sketch out and define their own search shape on a map and perform property searches in that specific area.
The tool works by connecting a series of points together to form an enclosed search shape. The shapes can then be saved to receive property alerts and uploaded to social media sites Facebook and Twitter to be shared with others.
Draw-a-Search has already proved popular, says Rightmove, with over 10,000 search shapes saved within the first few days of the tool being introduced on the site.
Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, said: “Home hunters often have a very specific search area in mind that does not neatly fit in a postcode area or a radius of a town.
“Using Draw-a-Search they can now specifically define that area to fully customise and fine-tune their property search process. It’s great news for Rightmove member agents that we have introduced another ground-breaking feature to impress their potential sellers and landlords.”
The Draw-a-Search tool will already be familiar to Rightmove agents as the technology to designate a particular area has been available within Rightmove Plus since last November.
Agents use this to define the specific patch or target areas they operate in and generate performance reports on how they are performing against other agents in the area they have drawn.
Shipside adds: “Nobody knows their local area quite like an estate agent, and so the ability to specifically define the patch they operate in and receive detailed reports on those customisable areas has proved a popular feature of Rightmove Plus with our sales agents.
“We’re delighted now to roll out this technology to the general public.”
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/draw-a-search.html
Rightmove introduces new drawing search tool
28 July 2010
Comments
having just doubled your traffic in the last month by visiting your site home in i have to agree with aceofspades far superior on what grounds! your site messier than a kebab at 2 in the morning you should enter a competion for the largest amount of hyperlink on a homepage you would clean up!
Great but took them long enough. Weve been doing something similar since 1999. Couldn't resist it!
Are agents actually happy having their data spead around to competitors. A double edged sword?
Just taken a second to have a look at your site.
"Superior" to RM??
Well, it's not, is it?
The (USP) colour code isn't needed. You can specifically search your min - max on RM so ALL properties that display on the search are relevant.
Nice feature, though, even if i say so myself, homein.com search by map is still superior thanks to the coloured icons indicating the price of properties, you can see what's within your price range instantly: www.homein.com/uk/london/
Life's treating me good, have been out of the corporate Estate agency world now for 5 months, now on my own in business and loving it. I now fly like an Eagle, not a Sparrow with clipped wings!!! Good Idea Rightmove
Jonnie - I completely agree with you :)
It's a top feature, perfect for the user.
I think even the biggest of RM critics would struggle to turn this article into a negative...surely??
Gotta hand it top them - its good, can this article now become the normal rightmove slag off / rightmove defence that normally happens?
Quality- ahead of the prentenders and why they are No1 by a mile. Well done