05 Jun Is HomeSnap Really a Snap?

Image courtesy of Boston.com

Have you ever driven through a beautiful neighborhood, past that certain stunning home, and wondered how much it cost? Now you can instantly find out!

Guy Wolcott of Sawbuck Realty Inc. wanted to make something that was different than your normal home search app; he and his team wanted to create “a little iconic moment of delight”.

HomeSnap lets you take a picture of a house with an iPhone and learn about it in a matter of seconds.

How does it work?

Stand outside a house with your iPhone or iPad and snap a picture of the property. Then wait a few seconds for the magic to happen. You’ll see the address, the estimated current home value, what it last sold for, and even property details that include estimated taxes and nearby schools. Wow!

If you scroll through you’ll also find the same information on nearby similar homes that are for sale, under contract or recently sold. Of course, no app would be complete without the ability to share the snippet of info on Twitter, Facebook, email or text. Believe it or not, users can actually share their snaps to a “stream” if they want, and see snaps that other users have taken nearby.

The 90 million-home database is updated regularly to reflect changes. Registered users can sign up to receive email alerts when a home for sale has a price change, is under contract, or sold.

What about privacy?

No worries, the homeowner’s identity is always excluded from snap results. Especially since the person doing the inquiring will be standing directly outside the property. Everything else in the results is actually available to the public via other websites, but HomeSnap brings it together in a convenient single (and fun!) resource.