An evaluation of spatial sense-making tools for mobile home buyers using the HomeZilla online real estate service

HomeZilla offers a platform for building leads in Real Estate via a suite of online services for potentialhomebuyers. In addition to a web-based platform they have also designed and implemented an early version ofa mobile phone application. HomeZilla has identified a need for directed analyses of specific services andservice elements to determine how their design and feature sets impact lead generation.A key opportunity for lead generation exists in supporting potential homebuyers while they are visiting homesor surveying potential neighborhoods.Finding the right mix of information and presentation formats is a crucial design challenge in mobileapplication development. Mobile users want targeted information, accessed in short bursts-contrasting typicalbrowsing behavior at home. When creating a mobile application supporting real estate lead generation, thewrong interface may dissuade use entirely, while the right interface leads to highly meaningful interactionbehavior.We will conduct a human-centered analysis of interaction with HomeZilla services by homebuyers whenmobile. Building on our expertise examining how context influences how location-specific information isaccessed on mobile devices, we will provide-an analysis of scenarios where a mobile application could assist homebuyers in ways that a web interfacecannot-a series of prototypes for the targeted presentation of location-specific information, built using the HomeZillamobile infrastructure-an evaluation of how contextual factors impact the best choice of spatial data visualization-a series of recommendations for the design of robust mobile services for homebuyers, and an analysis of howsuch services can lead to a classification and identification of user needs, to assist in lead generation.