real estate listings flyhomes political vote AI

Seattle real estate startup Flyhomes has released a feature called NeighborVote that lets house hunters add politics to their search for a perfect new abode.

The tool allows shoppers to query the site and identify whether a listing is in an area that votes Democratic or Republican based on past voting data and the political parties of current elected representatives. The information comes from the MIT Election Data & Science Lab.

In a time where many citizens bemoan America’s strongly polarized political divides, is a tool could reinforce those separations a good idea?

“This launch is not a political statement,” said Tushar Garg, co-founder and CEO of Flyhomes, in a release. “We simply explored the potential of information retrieval with AI and large language models and asked ourselves: would knowing the political affiliation of neighbors help customers make more informed home-buying decisions? The answer was a resounding yes.”

Added Adam Hopson, Flyhomes’ chief strategy officer: “Our goal is for consumers to use NeighborVote just as they would Walk Score or school ratings to evaluate homes.”

Real estate listings these days typically include a variety of community details, including the availability of transit, walkability and public school performance. Fellow Seattle real estate companies Redfin and Zillow also provide information on climate change-related risks such as wildfires and flooding, but not a neighborhood’s political leanings.

Seattle is a largely liberal city, but has pockets of conservative voters. I asked the site if it could point me to neighborhoods within it that vote red. The answer was no, given that “neighborhood voting patterns are not detailed in the information available.”

But Flyhomes’ bot did confirm that the city is known for its “Democratic leanings,” and it went on to caution that “when making real estate decisions, it’s important to consider various factors beyond political information.”

Changing gears, I searched for listings in the Central Washington city of Richland, which is home to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. I found a swanky looking listing and asked if the home was in a red or blue neighborhood.

The response included results from the 2022 congressional election as well as the past two presidential elections. All three were Republican wins and included data showing the percent of the vote won.

“Overall, the results indicate a strong Republican presence in the area, suggesting it is a red neighborhood,” the bot responded. It again added a caveat, though it was more opaque: “However, it’s important to note that local factors can have a more direct impact on real estate trends.”