Abstract: There is provided a method for locating available real estate properties for sale, lease or rental using a database of available properties at a central location and remote stations which use a graphic interface to select desired regions on a map of the areas in interest. The user begins with a region where they are interested in acquiring property and select an inner area within this region by using a pointing device such as a mouse to designate boundaries on a map displayed on screen. This is then zoomed in on and a second area is selected within the zoomed region. The second area is then cross-referenced with the database of available properties whose approximate locations are then pictorially displayed on screen. Information about the properties can then be obtained in textual form.

Abstract: A novel system and method for locating real estate properties for potential purchase including a graphical locator interface which permits definition of a desired area for search by placing of a user-controlled selector on a map displayed on a CRT. Additional search qualifications including price, type of structure and others are also specified. The completed specification is then transmitted to a host system and is used for a search of a database of available properties.