adrienschaal/term-project---homeharvest

HomeHarvest Website: Real Estate Listings Scraper

Project Overview

The Big Idea: HomeHarvest is a Python-based tool designed to automate the collection of real estate listings from various websites. Users can input criteria such as location, price range, and home features (e.g., number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage) to receive tailored property recommendations. The minimum viable product (MVP) will provide a list of homes matching these criteria, with stretch goals including a user-friendly web interface and integration with mapping APIs for enhanced searches.

Team Members: Adrien Schaal & Moises Yi

Learning Objectives

• Primary Objective: Develop a Python-based web scraper to efficiently navigate and extract data from real estate websites.
• Secondary Objective: Master data manipulation to structure scraped data into a user-friendly format.
• Tertiary Objective: Explore machine learning algorithms to enhance property recommendations based on user preferences.

The Challenge of Real Estate Search

Finding the right real estate listing can be a daunting task, especially when you have specific needs and preferences. Buyers and renters often struggle with:

• Time-Consuming Searches: Manually sifting through multiple websites and platforms to find listings that match specific criteria.
• Data Overload: Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of available listings, many of which do not meet the searcher's needs.
• Lack of Customization: Difficulty in filtering searches to show only those properties that match all specified criteria such as location, price range, and features.
• Recent Listings: The challenge of finding the most current listings without trawling through outdated or already sold properties.

In a fast-moving real estate market, these challenges can lead to missed opportunities and a frustrating search experience.

Our Solution: HomeHarvest Website

HomeHarvest seeks to alleviate these pain points by providing a centralized, automated scraping tool that:

• Saves Time: Quickly retrieves listings from various websites based on user-defined criteria.
• Curates Content: Delivers a focused selection of properties that precisely fit the user's search parameters.
• Enhances Search Experience: Simplifies the search process with an intuitive interface and advanced filtering capabilities.
• Offers Fresh Data: Ensures users get the most up-to-date listings by focusing on recently posted properties.

By streamlining the property search process, HomeHarvest aims to empower users, making their real estate search experience efficient, enjoyable, and effective.

Implementation Strategy

1. Tool Exploration: Evaluate Python libraries such as Beautiful Soup, Scrapy, and Selenium for web scraping capabilities.
2. Data Modeling: Design a data model to effectively store and manipulate the scraped data.
3. Website Selection: Identify real estate websites that allow scraping and provide comprehensive data.
4. Scraping Logic: Develop scripts to extract listings based on user-defined criteria.
5. Data Filtering: Implement algorithms to sort and present relevant listings.
6. Stretch Goals: Build a web interface using Flask or Django for easy user interaction.

How to Use the Web Application

1. Open the Application
   • Start by navigating to the HomeHarvest application in your web browser.

2. Enter Your Details

   • Fill in each field with the appropriate information:
     • Your Name: Type your name here.
     • Municipality: Enter the municipality where you're looking for properties.
     • State: Input the state for your property search.
     • Listing Type: Select the type of listing you are interested in from the dropdown menu (e.g., For Sale, For Rent).
     • Past Days: Specify the number of past days you want to search for listings. This filters the properties to only show recent listings.

3. Submit Your Search

   • Once all fields are filled out, click the Scrape Properties button. This green button is located at the bottom of the form.

4. View Your Results

   • After clicking the Scrape Properties button, the application will process your request and provide you with a downloadable file containing all the real estate listings that meet your specified criteria.

Make sure to input accurate information to get the best results tailored for you. Happy house hunting!

Technical Setup

Installation

Clone the repository:

[git clone https://github.com/yourusername/homeharvest.git](https://github.com/myi2/oim3640/blob/main/helloflask/Final_Project_Website/App_3.py)
cd homeharvest