Google Real Estate is dark cloud over newspapers

Many of us came to News.com from the newspaper world and haven't forgotten our roots. So the online buzz about an evolving tool some are calling Google Real Estate has got us concerned about its potential to kill off those publications still heavily reliant for revenue from real estate ads.

To use the new feature, search for something like "homes for sale," or "." A tool pops up giving you the option to specify location, property type and listing type. It then calls up appropriate properties.

Newspapers have already been devastated by the loss of classified ad revenue to sites like Craigslist, which leads the way in many markets when it comes to rental housing and job listings. So those weekly open home ads are about all they have to hold on to.

There are already plenty of players in the online real estate listing business, such as the new ,Move.com and Ziprealty.com. But they don't appear as big a threat as Google with its quickly evolving Google Base and mapping technologies. As MarketWatch's Frank Barnako put it, "Goliath can go anywhere he wants. Now, he's decided house and apartment listings looks like a fertile plain."

Blog community response:

"If you're selling a house, you might want to think about getting the listing into Google Base. If you're buying, Google's going to continue to make it easier and easier for you to have one place to search for whatever you're looking for--including your next house. And if you're a traditional real estate agent, there's suddenly a very powerful, very visible company attempting to disrupt the market."
--ReNewsNetwork

"To everyone else creating real estate search tools, I'm not convinced that a vertical real estate search will ever beat Google's offerings UNLESS they have a much better database of homes than Google. Right now, Google is seriously lacking in quality inventory. However, if the consumers go there (and they will), then you can expect brokers (and someday brokerages!) to follow with their listings."
--Rain City Guide

"As an aside, MarketingVox says Google is testing something called Google Auto as well. Hmmm...wonder what's next? How about, 'Google Find My Keys Because I Can't Remember Where the Heck I Left Them.' Now, that would be useful!"
--Realty Blogging