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Waiting for Google’s Real Estate Service
Posted Nov 7, 2005, 10:20 AM ET by Brad Hill

that’s me waiting for Google’s real estate service, and I was encouraged this morning by an article from the NY Times (archived here at the International Herald Tribune) about the “Google effect.” The Google effect is a force field of apprehension affecting many industries, caused by Google’s voracious organization of information. Even Wal-Mart is reportedly afraid of Google’s growing ability to point consumers to the lowest price, wherever it might be. The article cites an anonymous source from inside Google who refers to a nascent real estate service being developed. Such a service would fit perfectly in the already powerful Local/Maps/Earth suite. My wife and I follow real estate listings obsessively; we jump between Maps and Earth to locate properties and assess neighborhoods to whatever extent possible. From the day Google acquired Keyhole (later changed to Google Earth), I have longed for an integration of real estate listings. I’d like to see Google purchase the Multiple Listing Service and Realtor.com, if possible, and do online real estate correctly, at last.