Online Property Information A Hit

Online property information a hit
April 27, 2004

Real estate agents, property owners, tradespeople and potential buyers alike are finding North Shore City Council's online Geographical Information System, or GIS, a valuable tool.

The system, which is the only one of its kind in the Auckland region, gives people access to interactive, map-based information about particular properties in North Shore City.

People can log onto www.northshorecity.govt.nz to access the online library, which includes everything from rates information to identifying where boundaries, water pipes, manholes and hydrants are. Aerial photographs and maps are also available.

North Shore City's GIS manager, Kumar Kannan, says all details about a particular property are now online.

"All the information we hold is now within easy reach for people. Our objective is to keep GIS simple so anyone could use it, anytime and anywhere," he says.

The system, which has been made increasingly efficient since it came online late last year, is now attracting at least 400 hits a day, and 6000 maps are being viewed.

Mr Kannan says real estate salespeople are using GIS to look at the history of a property, and owners and tradespeople to find out where their water supply, wastewater and stormwater services are.

"Potential buyers are also using it to find out the zoning of a property, where its boundaries are, its size, rateable value, and what their rates bill would be," he says.

The online library also saves people having to visit council offices to view information such as large, unwieldy maps.

Mr Kannan says GIS is a logical extension of e-government services that aim to encourage more people to source information for themselves.

In future, even more property information will be online, and a project is currently under way to scan 88,000 files of historical private and commercial property information - from architectural plans to handwritten notes - and make them available to the public.

ENDS

© Scoop Media