METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DATA UNIFICATION IN AN AUTOMATED REAL PROPERTY MERCHANDISING SYSTEM
A method for presenting properties includes accessing data sources for listings, where the data sources include on-market sources and off-market sources, the accessing including: retrieving the listings from the sources; converting the listings to a common format; detecting deficiencies in the listings; requesting and receiving additional data to resolve the deficiencies, where the additional data is obtained from one or more public data sources; and storing the listings in the common format in a parcel database; and monitoring actions of a buyer when searching for and viewing initial property listings from the parcel database that meet initial requirements of the buyer, calculating analytics of the actions, generating revised property listings from the parcel database that meet revised requirements of the buyer based on the analytics, and presenting the revised property listings to both the buyer and an agent.
1 . An automated method for obtaining, storing, searching, and presenting real estate properties, the method comprising:
periodically accessing a plurality of data sources for property listings, wherein the plurality of data sources comprises on-market property sources and off-market property sources, said periodically accessing comprising:
retrieving the property listings from the plurality of sources;
converting the property listings to a common format;
detecting deficiencies in the property listings;
requesting and receiving additional data to resolve the deficiencies, wherein the additional data is obtained from one or more public data sources; and
storing the property listings in the common format in a parcel database; and
monitoring actions of a buyer when searching for and viewing initial property listings from the parcel database that meet initial requirements of the buyer, calculating analytics of the actions, generating revised property listings from the parcel database that meet revised requirements of the buyer based on the analytics, and presenting the revised property listings to both the buyer and an agent.
2 . The automated method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the public data sources comprise online tax assessor data sources and online county records data sources.
3 . The automated method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the public data sources comprise online school district data sources and local law enforcement data sources.
4 . The automated method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the public data sources further comprise online mapping data sources and online satellite imagery data sources.
5 . The automated method as recited in claim 1 , wherein the analytics comprise the amount of time the buyer has spent viewing each of the initial listings.
6 . The automated method as recited in claim 5 , wherein the analytics further comprise the number of times the buyer has viewed each of the initial listings.
7 . The automated method as recited in claim 6 , wherein the analytics further comprise an average of attributes of each of the listings, wherein the attributes comprise location, number of bedrooms, number of baths, price, and square footage.
8 . A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method obtaining, storing, searching, and presenting real estate properties, the method comprising:
periodically accessing a plurality of data sources for property listings, wherein the plurality of data sources comprises on-market property sources and off-market property sources, said periodically accessing comprising:
retrieving the property listings from the plurality of sources;
converting the property listings to a common format;
detecting deficiencies in the property listings;
requesting and receiving additional data to resolve the deficiencies, wherein the additional data is obtained from one or more public data sources; and
storing the property listings in the common format in a parcel database; and
monitoring actions of a buyer when searching for and viewing initial property listings from the parcel database that meet initial requirements of the buyer, calculating analytics of the actions, generating revised property listings from the parcel database that meet revised requirements of the buyer based on the analytics, and presenting the revised property listings to both the buyer and an agent.
9 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8 , wherein the public data sources comprise online tax assessor data sources and online county records data sources.
10 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8 , wherein the public data sources comprise online school district data sources and local law enforcement data sources.
11 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8 , wherein the public data sources further comprise online mapping data sources and online satellite imagery data sources.
12 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 8 , wherein the analytics comprise the amount of time the buyer has spent viewing each of the initial listings.
13 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 12 , wherein the analytics further comprise the number of times the buyer has viewed each of the initial listings.
14 . The computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 13 , wherein the analytics further comprise an average of attributes of each of the listings, wherein the attributes comprise location, number of bedrooms, number of baths, price, and square footage.
15 . A system for obtaining, storing, searching, and presenting real estate properties, the system comprising:
a collaborative real estate server, coupled to one or more client devices via the internet cloud, said server comprising:
a unification module, configured to periodically access a plurality of data sources for property listings, wherein said plurality of data sources comprises on-market property sources and off-market property sources, and configured to retrieve said property listings from said plurality of sources, to convert said property listings to a common format, to detect deficiencies in said property listings, to request and receive additional data to resolve said deficiencies, wherein said additional data is obtained from one or more public data sources, and to store said property listings in said common format in a parcel database; and
a collaboration module, configured to monitor actions of a buyer when searching for and viewing initial property listings from said parcel database that meet initial requirements of said buyer, calculating analytics of the actions, generating revised property listings from said parcel database that meet revised requirements of said buyer based on said analytics, and configured to direct a presentation processor to present said revised property listings to both said buyer and an agent.
16 . The system as recited in claim 15 , wherein said public data sources comprise online tax assessor data sources and online county records data sources.
17 . The system as recited in claim 17 , wherein said public data sources comprise online school district data sources and local law enforcement data sources.
18 . The system as recited in claim 15 , wherein said analytics comprise the amount of time said buyer has spent viewing each of said initial listings.
19 . The system as recited in claim 18 , wherein said analytics further comprise the number of times said buyer has viewed each of said initial listings.
20 . The system as recited in claim 19 , wherein said analytics further comprise averages of attributes of each of said listings, wherein said attributes comprise location, number of bedrooms, number of baths, price, and square footage.