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Redfin Chooses Digital Map Products to Deliver Parcel Information
| Source: Digital Map Products
SANTA ANA, CA--(Marketwire - October 17, 2007) - Digital Map Products
(http://www.digitalmapproducts.com) today announced it is now supplying
parcel-level data to the popular Redfin online real estate brokerage site.
Digital Map Products' (DMP) ParcelStream™ web service is providing
Redfin a cost-effective solution for the acquisition and visualization of
parcel boundaries.
DMP is also offering web developers the opportunity to use its
ParcelStream™ application programming interface (API) in their web
applications for a free trial.
Online real estate applications gain sophistication with parcel-level data
Imagery enabled mapping tools like Microsoft® Virtual Earth™ and
Google Maps™ allow prospective property buyers to click on a map and see
a satellite or aerial view of a piece of property. As the online real
estate market matures, many sites are adding additional layers of
information.
"In the early stages of online buying and selling, consumers were content
to get a basic aerial map showing the general location of the property.
But as the market matures, consumers want more detailed information," Jim
Skurzynski, president and founder of DMP, said.
Skurzynski added that this parcel-level data allows buyers to see
neighboring property values, the specific features of the lot (e.g. size
and depth), determine how close it is to major roads and whether it is
adjacent to any public land or open space areas.
Innovative real estate sites have begun layering this parcel data,
available from county governments, over digital imagery and road maps to
give users a more complete picture of properties. However, parcel data is
not readily available from some counties and can be difficult to acquire
and maintain. Because DMP is able to deploy these complex data sets via
ParcelStream™, a web service, DMP customers are able to incorporate
parcel information from hundreds of counties into their applications
without having to invest in research, acquisition, normalization,
aggregation and maintenance.
Redfin's expanded parcel data gives users advantage
With the incorporation of ParcelStream™, Redfin.com offers parcel data
to customers in Boston and Washington, D.C. for the first time and
increases its coverage in California and Washington state. Further, Redfin
now can leverage the value of parcel data without the hassle of sourcing,
processing and maintaining the data in-house.
"With the addition of ParcelStream™ to Redfin.com's maps, home buyers
have access to even more information about a listing by actually being able
to see a property's boundaries," said Bryan Selner, director of product
management at Redfin. "By teaming up with Digital Map Products for
affordable and scalable parcel data, the development team is freed up to
focus on adding new features and improving the online experience for buyers
and sellers."
Digital Map Products offers free trial of ParcelStream™ API
In order to help its potential customers understand the immense value of
parcel-level geocoded data, Digital Map Products is offering web developers
the opportunity to use its ParcelStream™ API in their web applications
for a free trial. This simple API allows real estate sites to instantly
display parcel lines, geocode addresses to tie parcel data to an accurate
and precise location, and provide interactivity to parcel data. It also
allows users to query by assessor parcel number (APN), federal information
processing standard (FIPS) or street address to pinpoint the exact location
of the property.
"This offer allows sites using Microsoft® Virtual Earth™ or Google
Maps™ to insert a small amount of code and instantly see the advantage
of adding parcel-level data," Skurzynski noted. "Digital Map Products is
offering this fully functional trial so that developers can see how quickly
and easily they can parcel-enable their websites to provide their customers
more property information and a heightened user experience."
Information about ParcelStream™ is available at www.parcelstream.com.
The ParcelStream™ API trial is available at
http://trial.parcelstream.com/.
About Redfin
Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the real estate industry's first online
brokerage, currently available in the Washington, D.C. area, including
Central Maryland and Northern Virginia, Greater Boston, the San Francisco
Bay Area, Greater Seattle and Southern California, including Los Angeles,
Orange County, the Inland Empire and San Diego. By combining maps,
listings, tax records and analytics, Redfin has become one of the most
popular brokerage sites. Customers who use Redfin.com to buy or sell
properties earn a refund of most of the commission traditionally due their
broker, and get full support in paperwork, offer presentation, negotiations
and closing. Redfin has one of the highest customer satisfaction rates in
the industry, and is the only brokerage with a
100-percent-customer-satisfaction guarantee. To give the Redfin service a
try, visit www.redfin.com; to keep track of our daring exploits via our
blog, go to blog.redfin.com.
About Digital Map Products
Digital Map Products, Inc. was the first provider of subscription web
applications that embed Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology to
enhance workflow productivity. Based in Santa Ana, California, the
company's SaaS products serve more than 350 customers, representing about
150,000 registered users. Its ParcelStream™ web application is powering
national real estate websites with millions of hits per month. Products
include online applications such as LandVisionTM for the research,
acquisition and management of land assets, CityGISTM and CommunityViewTM
for government and ParcelStreamTM for web developers. To learn more, visit
http://www.digitalmapproducts.com.