Real Estate Search Engine Awarded U.S. Patent

(April 14, 2006) —   A U.S. patent has been granted to NeighborhoodScout for a search engine that enables home buyers to input data, such as proximity to the nearest major city, to locate a neighborhood that best meets their needs.The customized search criteria is intended to save users time and money, minimizing the need to drive around looking at homes and preventing them from making a purchase they could later regret.

Rather than rely on word-of-mouth recommendations, NeighborhoodScout founder Andrew Schiller says the site “optimizes search results to the personal criteria of each user, seamlessly integrates this service with opportunities for the home buyer to be connected with a real estate professional and mortgage provider to buy or sell a home and finance their purchase, and delivers it online where many Americans are now turning in large numbers to shop for real estate.”

Source: Promotion World (04/13/06)