Download GPS/Map Data

We have recently added the ability to download GPS/Map data for open house listings. Currently, the only data format provided is KML. KML files can be loaded directly into Google Maps (place the file/url in the search box), Google Earth, and a wide variety of GPS devices and mapping programs.

If the KML format does not meet your needs you might want to consider GPSBabel which can convert from KML to a variety of other GPS/Map data formats.

Look for the map icon next to open houses in a list or after the Map and Driving Directions in the expanded listing view. On the search results screen you can also download a single GPS/Map data file containing all of the listings found by your search.

Happy GPSing.

Google Earth

Recently we added a file suitable for downloading into Google Earth. Sorry, it's too large for Google Maps to handle. The file contains all current and future open house data. You can find the file at http://www.openhomez.com/data/openhomez.kml .

Caution, the file contains a lot of data and may take a long time to load. The file is refreshed nightly at midnight Pacific time.

In the future, look for new mapping functions in My Listings and your Search Results including selected data small enough to load into Google Maps.

Syndications and Exposure

One of the main goals of OpenHomez.com is to provide you a single site to post your open house information and then automatically have that information propagated throughout the Internet, saving you from the tedious task of visiting each of the various classified ad and real estate sites. We will constantly be adding new ways to expose your open house information to as many search engines and eyeballs as we can. Below is a current list of our progress towards this goal.

Current Syndications And Exposure:
OpenHomez.com Notifications and Alert System
OpenHomez.com Open House Blog
OpenHomez.com Open House RSS Feed
OpenHomez.com Google Group - Allowing user comment and feedback
OpenHomez.com Google Calendar
OpenHomez.com iGoogle Gadget

Google Base
Google Buzz
Looksmart.com(Edgeio.com) and its properties
Oodle.com and its properties

Classifieds.MySpace.com (via Oodle.com)
Vast.com and its properties
RealtyFeedSearch and its properties
Eventful.com and its properties
VillagesList.com
Posterous
Twitter
Tumblr
Yakaz.com
Technorati
FriendFeed
Dwellicious.com

Things we are working on:
Automatic feed to Zillow.com
Automatic feed to Trulia.com
Automatic feed to Syndic8.com

Send Us Your Data

Effective immediately OpenHomez.com is accepting your XML data feeds. If you have a large number of open houses that you would like to post on OpenHomez.com this option will save you some time. You can upload all of your data at once. No need to enter individual listings online. Of course all of your listings, regardless of how they were entered, are available to you online.

If you're interested in bulk upload of your data please review our XML Data Feed Instructions. If you have any questions, suggestions, or an open house existing feed available, please don't hesitate to email us.

Donations

Our donation program is now active. All of the basic services of OpenHomez.com are free for all and we do not sell or otherwise divulge your personal information. Our only source of revenue is the ads on our site and donations from our users. You can support OpenHomez.com by clicking on the advertisements of the vendors that advertise on our site or by making a donation.

Notifications

Openhomez.com users that create an account can now create alerts and have notifications sent to their email address and/or their mobile phone when a new open house listing is created. Create and log into your account. Click on "My Alerts" and add as many alerts as you like. Check boxes for email and SMS alerts are provided for each alert.

Notifications will be sent to the email address and/or the SMS email address in your account (My Account) listing. See our FAQs for additional information on SMS email addresses.

In addition, all new listing will be posted to various Internet sources to optimize the exposure of your open house listing. See our post on Syndications and Exposure for additional information.

Notifications and postings are delivered hourly, on the hour.

Beta Version 0.2

OpenHomez.com is now open for Beta testing. You can search for opens houses for FREE and without having to create an account.

You can post your open house listings for FREE by creating a FREE account. You can create your personal account by checking the "Create New Account" box on the OpenHomez.com Login screen. This is still a beta test so some things may move around or change, however the system is stable and you should not experience any loss of data.

We are still working on many features of Openhomez.com including additional syndication of your open house listings to other sites such as Zillow, Trulia, and Google Base as well as our own Open House Blog.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or feedback please post your comments on this blog or email us.