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WA Home Search Firm Maps Out Net Future |
| By Mark Pownall |
A WA company has launched a real estate search service on the Internet
using mapping technology adapted from the mining industry.
aussiehome.com Pty Ltd, which was set up with seed capital of $170,000,
claims it will take a local approach to searching for homes to buy or
rent compared with national operators running sites for that purpose.
The main competition is realestate.com.au and property.com.au but the
new WA operator believes the mapping technology used in the aussiehome.com
site will offer more comprehensive services which can be taken to other
markets in Australia and overseas.
The company has agreed to put the Council on the Ageing (WA) Inc's 2000-entry
listing of services for seniors on the site, providing information on
retirement homes, nursing homes and meals-on-wheels.
Established by Nick Streuli and Charlie Gunningham earlier this year the
company made its public debut yesterday, offering about 70 homes in Perth's
western suburbs.
The pair are both expatriates who met during their MBA studies at the
University of WA and set out to find an application for the Internet.
Mr Streuli said during their search for adequate mapping technology they
found Perth was a world leader in geographical information systems through
the mining industry's extensive use of these systems. He said GeoSys GIS
Consultants created the maps required in three months.
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Street wise: Charlie Gunningham, left, and Nick Streuli have set up a search
company which uses mining technology. PICTURE: Trevor Collens.
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Mr Streuli said the mining technology offered a level of interactivity
which was not being used anywhere else in the world, putting Australia
ahead in technology if not in use of the Net.
"In the US real estate agents are finding that people who are using the
Net to look at homes will go to two to four homes rather than 20," he
said. "That is a huge saving in time."
The businessmen want to offer a basic service which allows users to look
a home's position on the street and show the closest amenities such as
schools and shops.
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In time, they want to expand the service to include provisions for people
to book restaurants or the theatre through their site.
Council on the Ageing executive director Nigel Barker said the aussiehome.com
site would offer more up-to-date information than the once a year publication
the organization had published for the past nine years.
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Courtesy of The West Australian, 6th December 1999. page 20.
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