Google Makes Its Move

The Internet's six-hundred pound gorilla, Google, has gone into the real estate listing business. Protests to the contrary aside, this is a bold move as well as an interesting experiment. Google's latest move will tell us whether a generic search engine can effectively function as a vertical search site. How does Google manage the transition from all-around search site to something specific to real estate? From a user interface perspective, in the most natural way possible. When I visit Google and enter Los Angeles real estate as my search term, I'm invited to refine my search by adding a specific area and type (rental or sale) of real estate that I'm looking for. Up pops a Google Map full of listings that correspond to my search criteria. An incomplete set of listings for now...but can any realtor afford not to be included? Would anyone not want their listings to be included? Of course not. And there you have it...while the MLS's and the NAR have fiddled, Google just effectively burned down Rome. Round Two promises to be interesting.