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I’m sure it comes as no surprise when I tell you that over 90 percent of home purchases in the U.S. involve an internet search at some point during the process. As a real estate company owner, this tells me that we better have a pretty compelling website. Research also shows that 73 percent of home buyers consider commute times a key factor when deciding where to live. What this tells me is that part of making Windermere.com compelling is giving the customer what they want – which in this case is information about how long it takes to drive between home and work during peak commute times.
That’s how we landed on INRIX Drive Time™ technology.
I’m excited to announce the release of a new home-buying feature on Windermere.com that takes the guess work out of one of most important factors when considering a new home: “How long will it take me to drive to and from work?” You don’t have to guess at the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, year built, or school district, so why should your drive time be any different? It was this approach that led us to integrating actual drive time technology into Windermere.com.
Leveraging data from INRIX, the leading international provider of traffic information and driver services, our goal is to help home buyers know how long a commute they can realistically expect in traffic between their work and any home for sale on Windermere.com*. I know what you’re thinking: can’t I already get this information on most real estate websites through Walk Score or Google Maps?
Nope. Windermere is the first.
INRIX Drive Time goes well beyond other real estate websites that simply provide distance to work in miles or travel times based on traveling the speed limit. Windermere’s new tool provides drive times based on real-time traffic information sourced from actual drivers. It takes into account every traffic factor, including traffic congestion, road construction, accidents, holidays, weather, events, police activity, and historical traffic patterns. This information is updated every minute, then analyzed and compiled into a historical database that is updated every 90 days, ensuring home buyers have access to the most complete traffic data available.
To determine drive times using this new feature, home buyers simply enter their work address into a field directly on the property detail page on Windermere.com.
The tool automatically generates an INRIX Drive Time to and from work and a graph that shows how it varies by different departure times throughout the day.
Since INRIX helps us calculate the shortest route based on shortest drive time, not distance, it often suggests a route that commuters may not have contemplated themselves. We then provide the details of the route on a map.
Bryan Mistele, the CEO of INRIX, probably sums it up best:
“Nobody likes sitting in traffic, and although traffic problems won’t disappear overnight, smart applications of traffic data can help drivers not only save time on their existing commute but help them through the process of deciding on the purchase of a new home. Using INRIX Drive Time, Windermere will be able to better inform its agents and serve clients by arming them with information to help making the home-buying process easier.”
Thanks, Bryan, couldn’t have said it better myself.
To test drive the new INRIX Drive Time tool, simply go to any property detail page on Windermere.com.
OB Jacobi is the president of Windermere Real Estate. For more information visit https://www.windermere.com/company/about_us
* Does not include listings in Mexico, sold properties, or properties with hidden addresses.
