Ask HN: Can you build an open sourced real estate statistics site? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Can you build an open sourced real estate statistics site?

1 pointtechsin1015 comments

I have been interested in real estate for some time. I really wish there was a place where I could see lot of important stats month-over-month or even weekly, possibly going back years for any city.

While I'm no expert on stats relevant to RE, I'd still love to stats like (everything over time...):

eviction rate

inventory volume

days in market

1b/2b rent

population change

foreclosures

new constructions

house prices

COL change

price to rent ratio

new permits

apts for rent

maybe there is something opensource already?

the biggest obstacle for me to build something like this would be to have an api that gives this data. I doubt there is one api and maybe no apis that cover everything for all cities.

I worked for BoomTown! and I’d say that the single most complicated bits were ingesting MLS data. “Waterfront” on the beach is different than “Waterfront” in Ohio and can be coded differently. They had a full team of librarians whose sole job was to properly categorize all these things. It was wild.

Anyway, getting the data would be the most hardest part for a new product. MLS data usually isn’t open and usually only licensed RE agents can get authorization, and usually only in the area they are operating in. If you really want to disrupt the market, create an open MLS database and somehow sell it to agents that are sometimes contractually obligated to only use a single MLS.

Good luck!

Ive thought about this too and ive always wondered if large apartments were required to list available vacant vs non vacant apartments that way you could haggle a little.

If they're not required to directly list that information, is there some indirect way to acquire it?

Like I think businesses have to comply with some public tax disclosure in a way individuals do not (although tax law isn't my area of speciality).

Assuming they were public companies I guess you could workout the numbers.

You could try and figure out what city-data.com is doing.

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