What is Geospatial Data?
Geospatial data is information tied to a geographic feature and includes a combination of spatial information and attributes of the feature. Spatial information is represented with coordinates and/or geometry data and attribute information is descriptive information about that feature. Consider a feature such as a gas station. Its spatial information includes a point on a map represented by a latitude and longitude and its attributes may include name of the gas station, how many pumps, etc. Similarly, for a feature such as a roadway or river the spatial information would be a series of connected points on a map (also called a vector or a line) and its attributes may include a name, width, depth, etc.
Why is Geospatial Data Important in Property Analysis?
In real estate, geospatial data helps answer important questions such as: What surrounds a property, What zoning district is the property located in, How accessible is the property from a freeway, etc. Beyond property details like size or structure, geospatial data provides visibility into nearby infrastructure, environmental features, and land-use patterns, helping build a more complete understanding of a property.
Location plays a critical role in property evaluation. Two properties with similar characteristics can differ significantly based on their surroundings.
Geospatial data helps:
- Provide greater visibility into surrounding areas
- Support more informed property evaluation
- Enhance awareness and due diligence
- Improve confidence in decision-making
- Add context to underwriting, valuation, and investment analysis
Introducing Geospatial Insights APIs
The PropMix data lake platform contains over 153 million property records each with over 600 attributes including the property’s location – latitude & longitude. We combine this data with geospatial data from public GIS systems such as the U.S. Geological Survey, Census Bureau, Data.gov, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and others to build comprehensive layered geospatial information.
PropMix geospatial analysis engines combine this data with AI and machine learning techniques to produce various insights on a property such:
- Orientation of a property - faces East, West, etc.
- Cul-de-sac or corner properties
- Nearby features such as powerline, railroad tracks, superfund sites, waterbodies, etc.
- Waterfront features
These insights power PropMix’s Automated Valuation Model (AVM), Rental AVM, and our custom valuation solutions. In addition, it also powers new ways to find homes for sale.
The newly released Geospatial Insights APIs can now power your applications as you build your next cool visualization for real estate.
What Does the API Provide?
The first API made available is the Nearby Features API. It enables you to retrieve structured, location-based feature information for any property using its address. It provides categorized information about nearby features along with their proximity, making it easier to understand what surrounds a property.
If you have a property address you can now find all the nearby features or influences with a single API call and potentially map them out.
The API delivers proximity-information for various nearby feature categories, including:
- Transportation Infrastructure: Highways, major roads, and railroads
- Environmental & Natural Features: Water bodies and surrounding land features
- Land Use & Property Types: Commercial and industrial zones
- Other Points of Interest: Specialized locations such as cemeteries and more
How are our customers using Geospatial information?
- Lending & Underwriting: Gain better visibility into property surroundings
- Appraisal & Valuation: Add location-based context to valuation reports
- Investment & Analysis: Compare properties with deeper location insights
- Technology Platforms: Integrate geospatial data into applications
Add Geospatial Information into your Application
The APIs are lightweight and scalable with a response time in milliseconds and can be added directly into your browser based applications. The APIs are available via PropMix’s common API gateway with a simple token based security model.
Get Started
Start leveraging geospatial data to enhance your property analysis and decision-making.