Be Veewy, Veewy Quiet… I’m Hunting Weal Estate. 

Some of the greatest things in life have been the result of a happy accident.

The microwave, Play Doh, the Slinky… and many other cool, common inventions all came into existence as a fluke. People seek to develop something for a specific application, only to discover that their creation’s use and audience is so much greater than they had anticipated. Such is the case of the OnX Hunt app for the iPhone and Android, developed by OnX Maps.  

I was pleasantly surprised to come across this app while perusing a copy of “Field and Stream,” while waiting for a dental appointment. Despite the distraction of my upcoming torture session teeth cleaning, the article intrigued me enough to investigate further.  

After some research, I learned that OnX Hunt is the “#1 Hunting Maps & Offline GPS Navigation” smartphone app in the Android store. It has been downloaded over a million times and has a 4.2-star rating with over 7500+ reviews. The application has been featured in “Field & Stream,” “Outdoor Life,” and “American Hunter.”  

While it was created to support the massive community of outdoor enthusiasts, fisherman, and sportsman; the powerful and unique features easily cross over to support the modern and mobile real estate agent in the field.  

The most extensive maps out there…period.  

Used as a tool for real estate agents, the following features stand out: 

• 121 Million Private properties currently loaded 
• 421 Map Overlays and counting 
• 985 Million acres of public land 
• 400-plus miles of trails 
• Integrated GPS map data 
• Multi-state functionality if required 

Real Estate Synergy: The most extensive collection of land data you’ll find…available in your pocket WITHOUT having to log-in to multiple public records services! See topographical maps, ownership data, and land boundaries – for where you are standing – by GPS location.  NO NEED FOR PROPERTY ADDRESS.   

**Provide your clients with access to great outdoor amenities and recreation options at the touch of a button. 

For photos of the app in action, see the bottom of this post. 

The ability to sync your data across all devices:  

• Use maps when and where you need them—scout from a home desktop, explore with your GPS unit, or use your mobile devices in the field. 

Real Estate Synergy:  Begin a land search on your laptop, and continue in the field, simply by walking the property in question to confirm data. Make notations on the maps in the field and SEE THOSE NOTES SYNCED ON YOUR DESKTOP FOR PRINTING.  

Offline GPS Functionality:

• The OnX Hunt app turns your phone into a handheld GPS Navigator. Cellular coverage is NOT needed. 

Real Estate Synergy: Download appropriate maps and layers and have access to real-time data by GPS location in urban and remote rural areas. This is a great feature for locating hard-to-find property boundaries on large tracks of land, or odd shaped parcels. 

Suite of practical tools: 

• Access a compass 
• Mark waypoints with icons 
• Track time, direction and speed of travel 
• Easily measure distance between points 
• Measure acreage boundaries and total acreage 

Real Estate Synergy: The tools allow the agent in the field to answer a plethora of practical questions about a property: 

• Which direction is the home facing? 
• How far away is the property from local amenities? 
• How much road frontage does the property have available? 
• Mark the location of a septic tank or outbuilding! 
• Measure total acreage of a parcel- or just one side. 
• Accurately measure distance between property features! 

Overall, this is a fabulous application; and after a free 7-day trial download, I’d be willing to pay twice the price of $29.99 per year for the full version. OnX Hunt could not have been designed or built better for us if it was done intentionally for the real estate business.  

Once mastered, the amount of practical value that this application allows us to give the consumer – while saving the agent time – will be invaluable to any agent’s business. 

Finding this app is a testament to our responsibility within this profession to be constantly in search of innovative tools that enhance the customer experience…to always be in search of the better mouse trap.  

OnX Hunt is not an anomaly. There are countless hidden treasures in the Android and iPhone stores, just waiting to be discovered and repurposed. If anything, I hope you are inspired to go hunt for them (veewy, veewy quietly), because, much like advertising on Waze, the next great app upcycle is out there for you to discover.  

Happy Hunting!