Google Earth can now Take Us To The Moon - But How Long Before They Can Tour Homes for Sale?
By now, most of you have probably heard of and even explored Google Earth and Google Maps. They're fascinating and fantastic state of the art tools which are very interesting and quite entertaining. Not just for consumers, We all love this stuff. Now you can explore and tour the Moon, Mars, The Sky and other parts of our world using Google Earth and Google Maps. My guess is that it won't be long before you'll be able to click on the front door of a property and tour the "homes" and "Real Estate Listings" for sale too.
Google Earth currently allows you to search any part of the Earth, zoom down to the street level, see 3D images and buildings, photos, videos, and in connection with Google Maps, scroll up to the front door of any property. Now all they (or you) need to do is create a link to the listing, MLS, or "Virtual Tour" information, and the Virtual Real Estate World would be changed forever.
It's almost unimaginable. Or is it?
Come With Me On A Quick Google Earth Tour
Starting from the Moon, the Global View of Earth
Arrive at a Satellite City View with Photos and Videos
Virtually Transported to Helicopter View Of Neighborhood
The fastest trip you've ever made Down To The Car and Street Level
And In literally seconds, you're Standing in Front of the Property ready to knock on the Door. You're Just one "Click" away from Going Inside.... So Why Have We Stopped Here?
Imagine clicking on the Front door above - I EnvisionThis Next Screen popping up...
Welcome Inside This "Home For Sale" Enjoy Your Tour!
We can send man to the moon and even you to MARS with this new technology, connecting with the Real Estate Community and Industry would seem like the next natural progression for Google Earth.
Google Earth and Panoramio.com currently allow consumers (and you) to upload their photos to Google Earth, Youtube Videos are posted everywhere, so why not have the Real Estate Industry provide the final touches? Property Information, Listings, Links to community posts, photos, and videos. You can already take a tour of 3D buildings in the Google Earth Gallery, but I want to go inside.
Think of the potential a connection like this could have,and the convenience to both consumers and the Real Estate Industry. If this eventually does happen, well then, I called it. If it doesn't, why wait? Start using Google Earth and Maps yourself to create the Links and provide Community and Property Information.
Look at what others are doing on Google Earth right now...
The point and message in this post is that anyone with a computer using Google Earth and Google Maps can do this right now. Virtually travel to nearly any piece of property anywhere in the world. This one final connection would make looking at neighborhoods and finding out about communities, homes, and property much faster and extremely convenient. Millions of people are using this stuff now. Wouldn't it make Real Estate more accessible, and easier to access "Virtually?" Connecting a link to some detailed property information at the final stage of this "virtual travel" could make this one of the greatest "Virtual Tools" in Real Estate.
I'm just sayin...
Check out Google Earth and Google Maps, this may be the next "ONE GIANT STEP" for Google and mankind.
Brad, last week I checked out the Google Earth shots of the little house where I grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and I was blown away but the detail you could see. The place looked pretty ratty! But it's almost scary how much you can see from space!
Hi Brad-This is amazing. This something I haven't checked out but definitely will. Thank you for this fun and wonderful info. Have a great week, <SMILE>
Hi Brad! I constantly hear from agents that all of these pictures and tours are "dangerous" for sellers because criminals can "case" their home without ever even driving by. I disagree...the exposure far outweighs the risk.
Google Earth is absolutely awesome. I use it all the time whenever I plan on traveling somewhere. It also lets you research properties long before you ever go visit them.
Brad: I wondered why it was taking so long for your post to load ... now I know. I just completed a trip from the moon to Mother Earth in less than 5 minutes! We are so blessed to be living in these advanced technological times - aren't we?
Brad, I started "playing" with Google Earth when it was introduced, I love seeing it zoom into the address and then going closer in to see the house. I zoom in all the time to where I grew up, and other houses I've lived in. For anyone looking for a house it's a great way to see the area surrounding the neighborhood where the house is located. Wouldn't it be great if the it were "real" time?
Hi Brad, I had never heard of the Panoramio so logged in and the "Reflections " photos are amazing. You just provide so much here in the Rain, Brad and how fortunate we all are to have you!
this is phenomenal! I love google earth and google maps and never thought to do this with our tours, just FAB! I ditto William's ost, we are so lucky to have you!
I had almost 1000 posted pictures at Panoramio collected, tagged and posted within the last years. Somehow they suddenly deleted everything...The only explanation I would have is that on some of the title's I would say : Taken by Leal USA Realty... They were great pictures, from beaches, places, streets...Lost history.
I have received multiple email requests asking how to get your youtube videos on Google Earth and Google Maps:
To have your youtube videos show up on Google Earth, make sure you add the latitude and longitude cordinates to your videos, this will allow google to pull them from youtube and be sure they are in the proper geographical location. I just tested two of my videos and they both showed up.
This is one of the coolest tools I have found in quite some time. :-)
This is such a cool new tool Brad - great recap of it too. I like Missy's ideas of checking out where folks are coming from... helps to put their must haves into perspective!
Brad, I use Google Earth all the time. It's a great service for aerial photos. It's also interesting to check out other parts of the world. Thanks for the update.
Brad - Google, NASA and the other space agencies should get together and assemble similar products for other planets where mapping or other extensive photography has taken place.
I think Street View is a pretty cool thing to show buyers sho have not been to Austin yet. I can show them what neighborhoods look like before they ever get here.
Brad, you have got to love your job. If this gets to real time and you can look in the windows, I would recommend not working on the computer in the nude.
I love Google Earth. Remember the very first time I tried it and couldn't stop "playing". Yes sir, the possibilities are endless and mind boggling (did I spell that right?). Just the street view is great. I just read your comment on how to have your video show up. Going to give it a try! THANKS
You know Brad... I live in rural America and I've been telling Google that my office is NOT where they say it is for over 10 years. I think people in my area better stick to me for home tours or they could end up in the wrong place.
I live in Spruce Creek Acres, an equestrian community near the Big South Fork national park in Jamestown, Tennessee. It is a destination for trail riders so the properties I list and sell are mainly horse properties. Direct trail access is highly desirable, as you can imagine, and pasture is at a premium here so buyers are researching the area online using Google Earth to get....literally..."the lay of the land!"
Brad, I love the idea and don't love it at the same time. Eventually, the inside of every home will be visible to everyone! I'm not sure I want everyone AND the government (think IRS) and the bad guys seeing what I've got.
I have clients that are doing that to see the neighborhood before we go tour. I think the MLS need to add it to the listings also or at least let agents add a link. great post cw
Wow! I have been wanting for some odd reason to see a couple of houses that I lived in when I was in the Army in KS.....I know how to find them now! Thanks!
Great post. I know when I first downloaded it years ago I had a riot trying to find the pyramids in the desert. The last street satellite view of my listing had my car parking just down the street LOL! This is really fascinating stuff.
Thank you for making us aware of these powerful tools. Technology never ceases to amaze me. Thank you as well for sharing the photo of the AR office. Lots of good things and good ideas are coming from there! :)
Brad - I have a number of buyers from out of the area who use Google Earth all the time to check on areas they like, or find out they don't here in SoCal. Some are looking for things like high tension wires near homes they are interested in, and trying to determine if certain properties have views or not. Technology is asoslutely helping folks more and more refine their home searches.
Hey Brad..This Post may be Big, a follow up on uploading a you tube Video might be good, thanks, love the idea of where we are headed. I'm going to look at Uploading some of my property Video''s from YouTube to Google.
I've been adding photos aready and mapped my self and areas of Victoria...good stuff
Brad: Saw a very funny looking truck one day with windows all around. Sign said it was a mobile photography truck in action or something. Bet it was the Google Earth truck! Maybe you'll see me driving on one of the local Manassas, VA byways when you click down to street level.
Shoshana - I understand your concern. But if the home is for sale, why wouldn't you want to let folks see it? Your MLS provides photos, and there are hundreds of "Vitual Tour" companies offering their services with many Real Estate Professionals using them. I think if my home were for sale, I'd want my REALTOR using today's technology and marketing tools to help me sell my home. Yes, I'd want people seeing my home as a seller. Here's a link to just a few of the homes on youtube that are connecting and using this technology:
My analogy attempt: We can't not drive our cars down the road just because we know that there are folks out there that drink and drive. We just need to be careful and watch out for the other guy. :-)
Brad, I think Google has real estate map search. I have a Google webmaster function and I recently got the script for the map and put it into my web site. If you go to my site www.sandymyrtlebeach.com in the top half center of my Home page just click and it brings up a google map of my area with real estate listings shown as dots. You click on a dot and the listing appears.
Sandy - WOW! Thanks, this is exactly was I was looking for. You have done an excellent job pulling this information together and displaying it on your site. I took a screen shot to share with folks here, I hope you don't mind.
I'm thinking the easier we can make things for buyers, the better. And if we can all learn to be THAT person for our market, then we give ourselves a leg up above the others. I swear I'd only learn this stuff on Active Rain!
In one of my monthly reports to an REO asset manager I included a Google Earth view of the REO property and the comparables used in the report. That prompted a call from him asking "how did you do this it's great". I said Google Earth, man; Google Earth.
Brad, "The point and message in this post is that anyone with a computer using Google Earth and Google Maps can do this right now." If I ever have time, like when I retire, I am going to read each and every one of your posts. You always have too so much good stuff.
LOL Margaret - thanks. By the time you retire, It'll all change!! (even if that is next year...) I can hardly keep up with all this stuff myself. The problem with these new and cool tools is that they can be too much fun and take away your blogging and commenting time! hahaha! :-))
This is yet another reason why we have to play nice and pay attention to Google! And they are so nice to work with. I would love to see our Virtual Tours integrated with Google Maps and Google Earth.
great idea Brad. So have you sent this idea to Google yet? I think it is something they could deffinitly take advantage of, if they havn't already thought of it themselves.
I sometimes take trips back to Germany to visit my childhood home, my elementary school. They do not have the street feature for Germany yet but I can see my grandpa's car parked in the drive way and my Mom's laundry blowing in the wind on her balcony. Most of the landscape is so beautiful to look at from the bird's eye view, especially the small farmer fields.
Brad - Buzz Lightyear said it best " To infinity and beyond" , Most of the leaps seem to catch me after the fact. Hence my presence here at AR. Eyes wide open are becomming a credo . Thanks for your constant points that help me push my business
This is just another way for us to really stand out wtih our posts (and listings). The sky is the limit to how "one-of-a-kind" we can market ourselves. Thanks for the tips.
Hey Brad -- I hope this happens. I would love to see google base or better yet, an open source database for owners, agents and brokers all put into one massive database with extensive GIS, videos, etc., it would make MLSs compete, and agents compete even more.
Soon enough there will be something like Google Home and you suddenly are touring listings. Now what I would like to see is getting a virtual tour of mortgages.
Brad, My YouTube 'map' location does not give me the latitude and longitude coordinates. It only allows me to type in an address. How did you get your coordinates in there instead of the physical address? I have plenty of home video tours on YouTube, but they didn't show on Google Earth's YouTube icons. I'm thinking it's because it needs those coordinates instead of an address!??
Hi Terri - when you move the little flag or pin marker, it will automtically place the lat/long cordinates in that address box. Use the address box to just get close to the location, then use the mouse to drag and pinpoint the exact cordinates for the video. No matter where you drag that little pin, the cordinates will show up in that address box, then make sure you click on the "save changes" for your video. :-)
Hi Brad, I have checked out google earth and in my area the addresses are not correct but if you know "enough" about where you are trying to see, you can figure it out. It still is amazing and I have used it to check out a few locations.
I'm a technology lover and love utilizing the latest and greatest technologies for both my clients and myself. However, even I would have to draw the line at being able to click on a house on Google maps and go inside.
Criminals would be able to case a house more effectively. When it comes to vacant homes, transients would be able to go to a public library and figure out what empty house they want to spend the night in, and then there is the privacy factor of government, insurance and other agencies being able to easily locate and observe the interiors of a home.
I'm sure that is one of the big reasons why their is still limits placed on how much data MLS will allow into the public. I can appreciate that the idea is intriguing to us agents who are looking to maximize our listings exposure to the public, but in this case I think we should look before we leap.
Tarris - I appreciate, respect, and thank you for sharing your opinion and comment here. It's always nice to have the view points of Industry professionals from every angle. I fear we are too late though with the advances of technology. It is already way past our control and the new stuff that is introduced each day to the world can be used as good, or in the wrong hands, used as bad.
Baseball bats were created for playing a game and having fun, however they have also been used for bad and unimaginable things. I too am a technology enthusiast and love to explore all the possibilities and solutions that can come from some of this stuff, maybe I am only looking for the positive aspects and potential, and need to pay more attention to the negative and adverse repercussions that could be created.
Even though every rose does have thorns, I guess I'm pretty one sided in my thinking, and blinded by trying to only see the beauty in the things that can also have a negative impact. Thanks for keeping my eyes open and for keeping me accountable.
Having said all that, I still want to click on the door and go inside. :-)
I know in many ways the door has definitely swung open. For now, a person up to no good has to be a bit tech savvy to put all the pieces together and get a composite. If Google is given everything, it makes the whole process easy enough for a 3 year old to do it.
Perhaps I'm getting to be a bit more skeptical as I get older and beginning to realize just what a Pandora's box we've all been so eager to open. Like you, my excitement for the new tends to have me looking at the possibilities rather than the repercussions. I suppose man will always be that way. Sorry I didn't mean for this to sound philosophical. Keep up the great posts!!!
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Just imagine if these were ALL listings and virtual tours...
Make Sure You Register Your Company or Business on Google Maps.
