Bayleys Real Estate Puts Property on the Map in New Zealand with SmartFIND from GeoSmart

North Shore, Auckland (PRWeb) January 31, 2007 -- Looking for a new home or investment property in New Zealand has just become much easier since Bayleys added mapping to their Real Estate website. In addition to being able to view properties on a map, you can overlay important features such as schools, shops and medical services which can be important factors when buying property, especially from overseas.

"Location is one of the prime factors when people are looking for a property and as many people are looking for properties in areas they are unfamiliar with, being able to view them on a map on the web makes good business sense." Said Bayleys Realty Group's Chief Information Officer, Alan Menzies.

"Location of course isn't just about where the property is, but what is around it. There are prime factors that are important to a buyer, one of the most important ones is proximity to schools. We decided to add the option of viewing schools, health services such as medical clinics and shopping to the maps in relation to properties we list. Combining this with geographical features such as beaches and bays, people can now start getting the real picture about the properties they are considering."

"When looking at map providers we needed a solution that offered us the ability to have our own unique look and feel, not just another map on a web site. We wanted the best. This is about adding functionality that makes it easier for our clients to find what they are looking for and we had some key criteria, the foremost being quality of data and GeoSmart having driven all of New Zealand were able to assure us that the roads on their maps were real, i.e. not paper roads that haven't been constructed. They also have an excellent database of Points of Interest (POI) which have allowed us to enhance the information provided."

Background
The mapping partner, GeoSmart Limited, was selected in conjunction with Datacom, Bayleys http://www.bayleys.co.nz web design and development partner.

Datacom Interactive GM, Dave Fleming, says "The GeoSmart mapping solution provides accurate and reliable data that we were able to easily integrate with the design and functionality of the rest of the website. The result, more information, delivered in a relevant manner, to prospective property purchasers."

GeoSmart http://www.geosmart.co.nz is the premium provider of web mapping solutions in New Zealand with over 100 websites now using SmartFIND. GeoSmart is also the provider of services such as SmartFIND on Vodafone Live mobile phones and SmartMAPS in integrated and portable navigation brands such as Navman and Siemens VDO. Their latest product Invite²GO was launched just before Christmas which allows people to send an invitation which provides unique turn by turn directions from anywhere in NZ to a location or event. Several thousand invites have already been sent using this new application which can be used by consumers for free.

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