It's called Blockhunter, and it's a particularly elegant example of what are - apparently - being called "intention websites". You don't advertise your home on Blockhunter... you express an interest in selling (or letting) it. On the other side of the fence, potential buyers (or tenants) express an interest in taking it off your hands. Both parties remain anonymous... but are matched up via a very nice implementation of the Google Search and Maps APIs. In practice, it's impressively fast and simple to use... an initial search for tenants in south west London found me nine entries in less than 60 seconds. Downsides? Since it's free (and anonymous) there aren't many, but it clearly relies on the quality of user-generated content. Some potential buyers are registering "blocks" (their personal geographic search areas) that are so huge they're effectively pointless (I found somebody looking for a 2-4 bedroom flat anywhere within a 66,095 square kilometre "block" that stretched from Southend-on-Sea in the east to Tipperary in Ireland in the west... not too fussy, clearly). Also, studio flats aren't served in the drop-down menu. But this is a new website, with an elegant and usable UI, and will improve the more people try it out.

Start marketing your home before it's for sale [March 30, 2007]

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