June 4, 2023

CFPB: Algorithms, artificial intelligence, and fairness in home appraisals

CFPB: Algorithms, artificial intelligence, and fairness in home appraisals. “Today, the CFPB is taking another step toward accountability for automated systems and models, sometimes marketed as artificial intelligence (AI). The CFPB is proposing a rule to make home appraisals computed by algorithms fairer and more accurate. This initiative is one of many steps we are taking to ensure that algorithms and AI are complying with existing law.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
March 26, 2023

WUSF: USF researchers create 3D models and virtual tours honoring the legacy of President Jimmy Carter

WUSF: USF researchers create 3D models and virtual tours honoring the legacy of President Jimmy Carter. “The researchers were tasked by the NPS to digitally scan and preserve furniture items that the 39th president built himself. They also created virtual tours of his boyhood home, farm, and depot that served as his campaign headquarters in 1975. The house in Plains where Carter and his wife Rosalynn currently live will eventually be included in the tour as well.”

Research & Opinion 0
March 16, 2023

Berkeley News: New Berkeley Terner Center database gives ‘road map’ for local housing reform

Berkeley News: New Berkeley Terner Center database gives ‘road map’ for local housing reform. “Local municipalities around the U.S. now have a road map to pursue housing reform through a first-of-its kind database created by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley. It catalogs state incentives and programs that legislators can emulate to produce more local housing. As part of Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, the Terner Center’s database sorts 144 pro-housing policies from 20 states by factors related to affordability and equity.”

New Resources 0
March 14, 2023

Lifehacker: These Interactive Tools Reveal Your Home’s Future Flood, Heat, and Wind Risk

Lifehacker: These Interactive Tools Reveal Your Home’s Future Flood, Heat, and Wind Risk. “The following three organizations use advanced technology and models to estimate the risk most homes have of flooding by taking climate change and sea-level rise into account. They’ve created free and user-friendly tools with the latest data to help you make informed decisions regarding your home’s risk, where to build or invest, how to prepare for future flooding, and how to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.”

Useful Stuff 0
January 27, 2023

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new AI-powered natural-language search is a first in real estate (PRESS RELEASE)

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new AI-powered natural-language search is a first in real estate (PRESS RELEASE.) “Now home shoppers can enter phrases like ‘$700K homes in Charlotte with a backyard’ or ‘open house near me with four bedrooms’ directly into the Zillow search bar, rather than starting with a location and having to filter their way to the homes they want. They can also save their searches and have Zillow notify them when new qualifying listings come online.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
November 22, 2022

Q&A: UW researchers find privacy risks with 3D tours on real estate websites (University of Washington)

University of Washington: Q&A: UW researchers find privacy risks with 3D tours on real estate websites. “The team examined 44 3D tours on a real estate website. Each tour was for a home in a different state and had at least one personal detail — such as a letter, a college diploma or photos — visible. The researchers concluded that the details left in these tours could expose residents to a variety of threats, including phishing attacks or credit card fraud.”

Security & Legal Issues 0
July 26, 2022

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new tool powers home searches in up to five areas at once, letting shoppers move as fast as the market

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new tool powers home searches in up to five areas at once, letting shoppers move as fast as the market (PRESS RELEASE). “Now available on the Zillow app, the multi-location search feature makes the home shopping experience faster, simpler and easier by allowing shoppers to find available homes in up to five different areas at once; it also gives users the option to easily sift through the listings on the map or all in the same results feed. In addition, users can save their multi-location searches and opt to receive email and push notifications with results and recommendations.” Zillow is planning a number of other search enhancements. They’re mentioned in the release.

Tweaks & Updates 0
May 17, 2022

CNET: Don’t Just Tour That Home Online. By All Means Judge It

CNET: Don’t Just Tour That Home Online. By All Means Judge It. “Whatever you love in a house, there’s a huge world for you beyond endless episodes of House Hunters and housing sites like Zillow and Trulia. There’s also a dedicated online community passionate about real estate, architecture or both who spend hours finding the most bizarre, incredible and horrifying homes in America and delivering them to their thousands of followers.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0
May 12, 2022

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A public database significantly undercounts former drug labs in Pa. Here’s why homebuyers and renters should care.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A public database significantly undercounts former drug labs in Pa. Here’s why homebuyers and renters should care.. “The only online federal database that allows people to see whether their home or property was contaminated with toxic chemicals used to make drugs like methamphetamine significantly undercounts the number of sites in Pennsylvania, according to data obtained by Spotlight PA. Similar reporting discrepancies exist in neighboring states, but Pennsylvania is one of several nationwide that do not have laws or guidelines outlining how contaminated properties should be cleaned or when they are safe to live in, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.”

Research & Opinion 0
March 4, 2022

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new side-by-side comparison tool helps home shoppers make faster, smarter decisions to find a home they love

PR Newswire: Zillow’s new side-by-side comparison tool helps home shoppers make faster, smarter decisions to find a home they love (PRESS RELEASE). “Now available on the Zillow mobile app and website, Homes to Compare gives buyers the ability to select as many as five homes and view the properties’ details on a comprehensive side-by-side chart. On one screen, users can compare more than 70 key listing details, such as price, square footage, lot size, property conditions, architectural style, interior features and more.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
August 10, 2021

Country Living: Beloved “Cheap Old Houses” Instagram Account is Now an HGTV Show

Country Living: Beloved “Cheap Old Houses” Instagram Account is Now an HGTV Show. “With the real estate market hotter than ever, it may be hard for prospective buyers to imagine finding a house with good bones, history, and character—all for under $150,000. But these affordable, diamond-in-the-rough residences are just the sort featured on @CheapOldHouses, an Instagram account and subscription newsletter created by husband-and-wife Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein.”

Around the Search & Social Media World 0

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