ZipRealty Enhances Its iPhone Real Estate App With StreetSketch

EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ZipRealty, (http://www.ziprealty.com; Nasdaq: ZIPR), the nationally-ranked, full-service real estate brokerage powered by proprietary technology and effective online marketing, today announced the addition of StreetSketch™ to its popular free real estate app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. StreetSketch is a tool that allows potential homebuyers to draw a free form search area around any location on a map – regardless of size or shape – and create a totally flexible, customized home search on their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. StreetSketch is a companion tool to ZipRealty's award-winning StreetScan^™, an augmented reality feature in its iPhone app that shows the user available homes for sale around them through the iPhone's camera lens.

StreetSketch allows potential homebuyers to draw any shape on a map with their finger directly on their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch screen. Once the area is drawn, a full list of homes for sale including their listing prices is displayed on the map within the drawn boundaries, with more details on each home displayed in the sidebar. Additional features in the latest iOS version release include the ability to easily retrieve a forgotten login or password, and general layout improvements including putting Facebook Connect on a separate tab. The enhanced ZipRealty app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is available now for download in the Apple App Store.

"We've created a robust, easy-to-use iPhone real estate application for consumers that includes state-of-the-art features like StreetSketch and our augmented reality tool, StreetScan," said Lanny Baker, CEO of ZipRealty. "Searching for a new home is a highly personal event, and StreetSketch provides our customers with a powerful, personalized search mechanism that naturally complements their touch screen iPhones, iPad and iPod Touch devices to help them find the perfect home."

According to a recent report by market research firm IDC, by 2015 more US Internet users will access the Internet through mobile devices than through PCs or other wired devices, and mobile web users will grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.6 percent per year between 2010 and 2015 as smartphones begin to outsell simpler feature phones and as media tablet sales explode.

The ZipRealty iOS mobile applications have been downloaded and upgraded more than 1.4 million times since their initial launch in December 2009, and received over 4.3 million page views during September 2011. ZipRealty applications consistently rank among the top ten real estate apps in the Apple App Store, and by many third-party iOS and mobile app reviewers.

Additional information, screenshots, and a video demonstrating how the application works may be found on the ZipRealty website at http://www.ziprealty.com/mobile/index.jsp.

About ZipRealty, Inc.

ZipRealty is a leading full-service residential real estate brokerage focused on finding better, faster ways to connect clients with the information, tools and professional services they value to complete their residential real estate transactions. The Company serves its clients through its combination of a leading online presence, robust proprietary technology and knowledgeable local real estate professionals in the field. The Company's award-winning, user-friendly website and mobile applications give its clients on-the-go access to comprehensive local Multiple Listing Services home listings data, as well as other relevant market and neighborhood information and tools. The Company's proprietary technology, including its agent productivity platform, helps increase the efficiency of real estate agents while reducing customer acquisition and management costs, allowing the Company to invest in making its value proposition differentiated and more attractive to both clients and agents. Founded in 1999, the Company operates in 23 major markets in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The Company also has referral arrangements with third-party brokerages in two markets where it does not conduct its own brokerage operations. For more information on ZipRealty, visit www.ziprealty.com or call 1-800-CALL-ZIP.

SOURCE ZipRealty, Inc.