Zillow begins offering higher-res, almost 3D images
From Zillow’s blog today,
…we announced this morning the addition of 3D-like, “birds-eye” aerial photos to our beta site. These remarkably clear and detailed images, shown alongside home details and Zestimates, come from Microsoft’s Virtual Earth platform.Back in December, when we first saw bird’s eye imagery on Microsoft’s Live Local site, we knew it would be a great addition to what we were creating for Zillow.com. A few of us went to visit Microsoft’s partner, Pictometry, in Rochester, NY. It was fascinating to learn about the process Pictometry uses to collect and process all of these 45-degree photos, including seeing one of the fleet of modified Cessna aircraft which are flying all over the country right now, taking these pictures of homes and neighborhoods from all sides. Microsoft then takes this data (50+ terabytes’ worth!), does their magic, and delivers it to millions of people on the Web. When we integrate these images with the home data and Zestimates we have on Zillow.com, the resulting experience is jaw-dropping.
It’s easy to imagine the clarity these images add for a home buyer curious about a property’s architecture, yard or neighboring homes. Personally I like looking at my neighborhood the most. Not only is this a perspective I’ve never seen (even though I’ve lived in the same neighborhood my whole life), it allows me to do “Sunday afternoon strolls” looking at nearby houses whenever I want.
San Francisco and Los Angeles are the only two cities in California available at this point, but the detail is quite impressive. When I look at my own block, I can almost tell when the photo was taken based on which of my neighbor’s cars were parked in the street, or what color their roof was… The ways this could be used to benefit home buyers and sellers are enormous…
New Home Valuation Site Launches [SFHomeBlog]
