New tool allows portal searches by lifestyle needs, not by property

OneDome has launched a new online tool that allows users to scour Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket by setting up lifestyle criteria, instead of finding a property and then researching whether its location has the facilities the prospective buyer wants.

Users of the tool, called Discovery, firstly nominate a county to live in and then prioritise seven categories that affect people’s decision to move. 

Users can then click through to one of the portals jumping straight into a list of available homes in that location that meet their criteria - only then are properties sorted by bedroom numbers and the like.

According to OneDome’s research, whilst homeowners feel confident that they live in a good location, this confidence evaporates when they are asked whether the place they live in best suits their circumstances and criteria. “It is hard to analyse every corner of ever neighbourhood and work out what fits our needs best” claims the company. 

This is the latest addition to OneDome’s Locality Reality suite, which also includes Explore & Score – a tool which gives each postcode a score by crunching over 70 data points from publicly available sources. The tool generates a numerical score for each location based on seven indicators: Safety, Transport, Quiet, Green, Grocery, Lifestyle and Education.

“Discovery has the potential to change the way people search for property. For many, they don’t mind where they live as long as there are good schools – for others, green space is the more important factor. Discovery addresses location first and properties shortly after” explains OneDome founder and chief executive, Babek Ismayil.