Hotpads.com: Filter Rental Real Estate by Congressional District

I’ve really liked Hotpads for a while now. They’re a small web-based real estate company that focuses on the rental market. What they’re doing with a map interface is really quite interesting. You can easily filter results to fine tune your rental search by using their sliders and buttons.

The 435 congressional districts are outlined on HotPads’ Maps, with red and blue designating the party affiliation of the districts’ current Representatives. By clicking on the districts’ “I” buttons below the districts’ titles, users can view quick facts about the district including the current Representative and the candidates in November’s contest. By clicking on the quick facts bubble, users can get more detailed information: HotPads has incorporated Wikipedia articles with detailed information about the candidates and the close races. (from their blog)

Overall, this is a great example of how companies in the online real estate space can differentiate their products. Kudos to Hotpads for a job well done.