This is part 3 of the The Data Deal,a series that helps guide professionals through the process of choosing the best data vendor resource for their business by offering questions and qualities prospects should look for in their data vendor.

Home shoppers don't just simply consider a potential home's amenities, they consider the surrounding community as well. In fact, for 52% of homebuyers, finding the "right" home has been the most difficult step in the home buying process for the past several years (The 2013 Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers).

Implementing Points of Interest alongside your property listings gives the consumer an instant picture of their prospective community and keeps them engaged. With local search on the rise, it is imperative to give consumers a reason to stay on your site for all their information needs. However, what should be considered when choosing a Points of Interest provider? What do home shoppers care about most when it comes to local amenities, and how do you ensure you're choosing the best provider for your business? Here are a few questions to keep in mind when contemplating your Points of Interest provider:

Do you offer points of interest?

Points of interest can let your visitors know what it's like to live in a certain area. By knowing where the local grocery store, gym, or bank is located in proximity to their new home, they'll get a better sense of the community. Make sure that information is available on your site.

Are the points of interest measured in some way?

Similar to schools, your prospects will want to know not only where the local amenities are, but the quality of those amenities. Having reviews of local establishments will give them a better sense of the community.

How many points of interest do you cover?

Be careful with this one. More is not always better in this situation. Onboard has over 5 million POIs nationwide. They are carefully selected based on pertinence to the real estate industry.

How up to date are your points of interest?

Make sure your POI data is fresh. Onboard updates its APIs and files on a monthly basis. This means we have you covered when that bagel shop closes and a new Duane Reade goes in.

Do you show the local public transportation?

A recent study by the Rockefeller Foundation found that Millennials place a premium on public transportation when purchasing a home. Public transportation is becoming more important to home-buyers when deciding where to live. Help renters or home buyers understand how they will commute to work in an urban setting. Make sure you include this valuable information on your site.

Ensuring that your Points of Interest data covers what your home shoppers care about most in the most accurate way possible is critical if you want to get the most from the dataset. If you have questions about choosing the right data provider, contact me at [email protected]. 

To view the original article, visit the Onboard Informatics blog.

More Articles in this Series

• The Data Deal Series
• The Data Deal Series: School Data Edition
• The Data Deal Series: Community Data Edition
• The Data Deal Series: Home Sales Trends and Transactions Edition