- HotPads.com
HotPads.com is an online map-based rental housing and real estate search engine, which is both free to search and list. Launched in November 2005, the site allows users to search for housing using a graphical map. Listings are displayed at their addresses, allowing users to conduct a location-based search. Through the graphical interface, users click on individual property listings depicted by animated building icons. Whereas many websites are mash-ups of other mapping applications, like
Google Maps , HotPads uses its own original mapping application.Background
HotPads was founded in 2005 by Matt Corgan, Douglas Pope, and John Fitzpatrick, built for the rental property industry. HotPads currently has 2 million for sale and 175,000 rental properties listed [ [http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2008-08-28-real-estate-websites_N.htm Real estate info flows freely on the Web] ] , with its most densely listed areas being
New York City andWashington DC . Based on information from [http://hotpads.com/pages/info/aboutUs.htm 2006] , HotPads operates with a staff of 10 people out of Washington, DC [ [http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2007/04/02/story5.html HotPads gets new digs, plus a cool $2M in funding] ] . The company’s business model is based on advertisements and listing enhancements.Other features
Other features of the company include a find a roommate function and a blog, called [http://daily.hotpads.com HotPads Daily] . The blog addresses a range of topics including the start-up process, the real estate industry,
Web 2.0 , and the ongoing developments of HotPads.External links
* [http://HotPads.com HotPads.com]
* [http://hotpads.com/pages/info/aboutUs.htm About HotPads]
* [http://www.techjournalsouth.com/news/article.html?item_id=2899 Tech Journal South: "DC's HotPads pockets $2.3 million A round"]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/05/AR2006030500786.html Washington Post: "Start-up"]
* [http://walkthrough.nytimes.com/?p=354 New York Times: "Mapping Done Right"]
* [http://www.inman.com/InmanINF/mris/story.aspx?ID=50080 Inman News: "HotPads gives new look to rental properties"]References
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