Prospective home buyers, sellers and developers in Philadelphia now can use a Web-based real estate decision-making technology when considering a real estate transaction in the area.
The technology is called the Real Estate eXplorer, or REX for short, and was created by Avencia, a developer of geospatial software tools. Using the Web-based tool, REX users can match information about recent home sales and median sales prices with location preferences like nearby schools, public transit stops and restaurants. REX provides detailed neighborhood information and allows users to zoom into areas as small as a single block.
With the REX infrastructure built, Avencia is now able to apply this Web-based space-time price model in any location to inform real estate purchases. REX uses raster based modeling and map algebra to inform consumer decisions about real estate. Users can select from a list of weighted priorities like the distance to transit stops, leafy neighborhoods, distance to charter schools and match these preferences with their budget.
REX users see the results on an interactive map with red areas where their budget preference is represented and blue areas where their location priorities are represented. Where these areas overlap is where users should look for homes.
At a neighborhood level, users can view the location and value of the last 15 home sales and link to aerial photography, building footprints, crime statistics, and detailed assessment information. REX gives users a location-based view of the local real estate market that includes the trend in sales price and data about the closest amenities.
Avencia is Philadelphia-based geospatial analysis and software development firm specializing in the creation of innovative location-based software tools to enhance decision-making processes.
Avencia President Robert Cheetham said REX began with his own search for a house and the relative lack of detailed information about the neighborhoods. “REX is designed to provide what we were missing – information that would have helped us with both the selection of a neighborhood and the bidding process,” he said.
REX is available on a subscription basis.
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