SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HotPads™, the
leading map-based home and apartment rental search engine and a
Zillow® (NASDAQ: Z) company, today announced it has redesigned its
popular website and mobile apps to make the experience of searching
for a rental faster and easier. With intuitive new features and
tools, the HotPads app and search engine allow renters to find
their next home in a snap.
HotPads' new design offers a robust and efficient search
experience for renters, especially those in urban areas who are
often under pressure to find a home to rent quickly. Focused on
speed, HotPads is able to now surface even more information,
faster, allowing prospective renters to view all available options
in their selected neighborhood or city. New map graphics and larger
images make it easier to identify the rental properties of
interest. A scrolling home page, expanding search tool and quick
links to the most popular cities make the entire search process
faster to navigate.
New features were also added, including Rent Zestimates®, the
ability to see the estimated market value for an individual home or
apartment for rent, and Street View, the ability to view
three-dimensional photography of a property's exterior and
surrounding streets without leaving the HotPads site. HotPads also
built a rich mobile web experience that acts just like the mobile
app so that anyone, regardless of operating system or device, can
easily search for their next place to live.
"Rental markets are moving faster than ever, and there is more
competition for homes and apartments – especially in urban markets
where HotPads' young, mobile and tech-savvy users tend to live,"
said Matt Corgan, HotPads co-founder
and general manager. "HotPads has completely revitalized its site
with this in mind, including a whole new look and feel, and a
user-experience designed to help renters find a place to rent
faster by giving them more information, and making that information
easier to find."
Everyone searching for a home or apartment to rent on HotPads,
on any device, can quickly and easily access all of the features
the site offers to help them find their next home, including:
- Map-Based Search: Zoom into
neighborhoods to see what's available, and where the nearest points
of interest are.
- Rent Zestimates: See Zillow's
estimated monthly rent prices for each property.
- Street View: Easily tour building
exteriors and surrounding neighborhoods in three-dimensions without
leaving the site.
- Verified Listings: Identify the
qualified listings from the most reputable sources
at-a-glance.
- One-Click
Call: Contact the listing agent or owner directly by
phone from the site when browsing from a mobile phone.
- Schools & School Boundaries:
Search for a home within a particular school zone.
- Public Transportation: See which
public transportation options, including subway and train stations,
are near each listing.
- Walk Score®
Data: Determine with one look just how
walkable, bikeable, and accessible via public transit a home or
apartment is.
HotPads is available on the Web and optimized for mobile at
hotpads.com. HotPads also operates five popular mobile apps across
iPhone®, iPad® and Android®. The HotPads iOS App is available for
free from the App Store on iPhone and iPad at
http://bit.ly/1oRncPC. The free app for Andriod can be found at
http://bit.ly/1kV4ndh.
About HotPads™
HotPads is a leading map-based
apartment and home rental search engine, and is a top destination
for renters looking to find a home in urban areas. HotPads is an
established and significant player in rentals for both consumers
and professionals, and offers a robust website and five mobile apps
across iPhone, iPad and Android. HotPads is part of the Zillow,
Inc. portfolio of brands. The company is based in San Francisco.
Zillow and Zestimates are registered trademarks of Zillow,
Inc.
iPhone and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.
Android is a registered trademark of Google, Inc.
(ZFIN)
SOURCE Zillow, Inc.