Something about housing stats in particular seems a bit more voyeuristic than say, just the average age of a neighborhood's residents. Housing numbers create a figurative window into people’s private spheres that is a bit uncomfortable at times, but the stats help visualize in a different way the place we call home.
Here's a list of websites that map different aspects of Miami's housing market:
- City Data has created a simple interactive map on which you can select statistics like "percentage of homes built in the 1990s" or "spread of renter-occupied housing" from a drop-down menu. You can see a Florida-specific map, or look at national data.
- The Trulia real-estate website displays heat maps of home values and rental prices by city and zip code. Although it's designed to help homebuyers, it captures some trends that fluctuate more quickly than for-sale properties, like rent prices, since its data is based on listings instead of household reporting.
- The U.S. Census' On the Map is one of the most powerful tools for mapping data but that comes at the expense of user-friendliness. The tool offers a massive collection of housing as well as demographic, labor and commuting data. There are some tutorials, but get ready to spend some time figuring it out.
A screen capture from Sitegeist. Sitegeistmight be the most interesting find. The app uses your current GPS location to provide borderline-creepy data like the number of children living in the area. It pulls from Census data to display aesthetically enjoyable charts and figures that can help you navigate an area: While driving, have someone check the people, housing, fun, environment and history tabs.
