National real estate brokerage ZipRealty and property search and valuation site Zillow have rolled out free Apple iPad applications in time for the device’s arrival Saturday.
Zillow’s app allows users to search for homes for sale and rentals on a large-screen map using landscape or portrait mode, and flick through photos of one or more homes alongside the map, the company said. Zillow also created a photo-based shopping interface that allows users to "window shop" and compare homes side by side.
"We jumped at the chance to create the Zillow on iPad App because we saw this as a unique opportunity to create a brand-new, photo-driven home shopping experience on the most incredible Apple device yet," said Rich Barton, Zillow’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.
"Our app for iPad has the potential to radically change the way people search and comparison shop for real estate, and we’re excited to be on the App Store for iPad from day one."
IPad users will also be able to save their favorite homes and sync them with Zillow.com and Zillow’s iPhone app, the company added.
As with the iPhone app, users will be able to find out "Zestimate" home values, historical data and other home details for the 95 million homes in the company’s database; filter their searches by price, size or housing type; e-mail their favorites to loved ones or post them on Facebook; and contact the agent, landlord or owner from the app, the company said.
Zillow reports that its iPhone application has been downloaded more than 1 million times, making it the highest-ranking real estate app in the iTunes App Store. ZipRealty’s app ranks second. …CONTINUED
ZipRealty’s iPad application is a large-format version of its iPhone application and will allow users to see homes currently for sale or recently sold along with their listing or sales price, square footage and third-party value estimates from multiple sources, among other details.
The company’s database contains listings from more than 4,000 cities and neighborhoods across the country.
Users will be able to contact a ZipRealty agent with one click; search for homes by location, price range, number of bedrooms and bathroom, and property type; and bookmark favorites either from the app or sync those they’ve saved on ZipRealty.com, the company said.
"The initial iPad version of our popular mobile application takes advantage of the device’s sharp visuals and touchscreen technology to present home listings and property details in a format that we think users will love," said Patrick Lashinsky, ZipRealty’s president and CEO, in a statement.
Users will be able to comment on the app using a Feedback tab.
Both Zillow and ZipRealty released applications for the Android operating system in March (see story).
Screenshot of ZipRealty’s iPad app.
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