Policy Maps for today’s real estate consumer

One of the most common questions that buyer clients ask is – what kind of people live here?

Most often (although I do have some stories about profoundly ignorant people) they are asking – “do they have kids here?” or “do the people around here work at UVA?” or “is it safe?” or “how are the schools?”

Enter Policy Map. In many ways similar, if not a competitor to (as far as I can tell) to Geo Commons’ (archived: 2026) products. They have data layers for Real Estate Analysis, Neighborhood Conditions, Mortgage Originations, Education, Money & Income, Demographics, Owners and Renters, Jobs, Energy (wind and solar aren’t options – yet) – and dozens of subsets under each respective data layer.

This is all information that today’s real estate consumer wants (and needs) to know. Buyers relocating to new areas should find this kind of data invaluable.

The possibilities for using this data are endless. More data, presented in a usable fashion, especially by MLS’ and sites such as Realtor.com will be valuable – to consumers and Realtors.

Thanks to RWW for finding this site and for highlighting some of the data that he found interesting

I’ll be moving next month, just six blocks away from where I live right now, but that part of the neighborhood is quite different. This is interesting data to look at. I did not know, for example, that a certain 10X10 block area I walk my dog through regularly is filled with people who have donated to the Presidential campaign of John McCain. No wonder I was the only one shocked when an openly gay man was elected Mayor of our city last night! I thought the whole city was filled with conservative lawn signs – but it’s just that little patch.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to mash this data up on my website.

Update: Blown Mortgage’s take on the new site (no longer available).