Melrose Condominiums

RealBird services include street, aerial and topographical maps; broker-branded driving directions; and various data layers, with interactive hotspots that can be linked to photos, Web sites or virtual tours. RealBird's recently announced Map-based IDX Property Search service couples the traditional, form-based search with the ability to browse listings on a street or aerial map. The company also offers full integration with Google Maps and the Google Earth Viewer.

Harmon Homes, a major real estate advertiser, has also shown interest in integrating with Google Base, Inman News reported this week. Google Base works similarly to online classified site Craigslist, making it possible to quickly and easily create a free post that will appear online and can be located by searching on specific terms, such as "real estate for sale."

The new Google classified service could pose a threat to traditional classified ad businesses, such as local and national newspapers, and also to other established online listings services.