Revised Real Estate Platform Provides Insight into Potential Residential Neighbors' Political Alignments Prior to Relocation
In the currently divisive U.S., a fresh real estate app emerges, offering Americans an opportunity to deepen their political segregation by vetting potential neighbors based on their political preferences. Dubbed Oyssey, this app, marketed as a "real estate search management platform," provides users with the ability to examine the political sentiments of prospective neighbors prior to relocation.
The app's website boasts, "Beyond the usual search filters, Oyssey introduces previously unavailable block-by-block social and political data." Sources for this info include "election results, campaign donations, housing trends, and other social data," as reported by the New York Post.
Addressing this novel feature in an interview with Axios, Oyssey CEO Huw Nierenberg stated, "It's all about helping buyers find homes they adore." Nierenberg is also advocating for the "democratization of home search data."
Oyssey, a fledgling company that recently unveiled in South Florida and New York City this October, also offers users a range of local demographic information, such as age, education, and income details of potential neighbors.
An intriguing aspect of Oyssey's offerings is the capability to determine the number of dogs residing in your neighborhood. For city dwellers like those in New York, this data can be highly useful, either A) to locate areas boasting high canine populations or B) to identify neighborhoods where dogs are less frequent, thus reducing the likelihood of encountering their waste during outdoor excursions.
While the dog-related data is appealing, the political filtering feature raises valid concerns. Given the allure of knowing one's neighbors, on the one hand, it might not be wise to encourage people to live solely with those who share their political views. Moreover, in urban hotspots such as New York City, the likelihood of experiencing significant political diversity is minimal to begin with.
In an attempt to gather more specifics regarding Oyssey's data sources, Gizmodo reached out to the company for additional information.
The CEO of Oyssey envisions a future where home search data is democratized, leveraging technology and tech tools to achieve this. With the introduction of block-by-block political data, Oyssey aims to shape the housing market by allowing potential buyers to make informed decisions based on their neighbors' political preferences.
