LightBox Vision

LightBox Vision (formerly LandVision) is a cloud-based mapping application from LightBox for commercial real estate brokers, home builders, developers, appraisers and government users in the United States. It addresses the time it takes to find sites, qualify them and reach their owners: LightBox says the deal "starts long before the listing".

The platform puts LightBox's nationwide parcel database, which ties 300+ property and tax attributes to parcel boundaries, on an interactive map with ownership and owner portfolios, transaction and debt history, zoning, building footprints, demographics, traffic counts, points of interest and hazard layers such as FEMA flood zones. Users filter properties, run comparable searches, draw radius or drive-time trade areas, set market alerts, produce site reports and export lists. An iPhone app (listed as LandVision on the App Store) supports field visits, and customers can stream their own Esri map services into the map.

The space element is Time View, a paid add-on for the Enterprise, Commercial and Builder versions. It shows current and historical satellite imagery from an unnamed third-party provider, selected by capture date, so users can view changes to properties over time. LightBox notes it is coarser than the default Bing aerial basemap; its benefits are currency and frequency.

LightBox says more than 20,000 brokers, home builders and developers use the application. Published users include Toll Brothers, the non-profit DignityMoves and the CAL FIRE/Pismo Beach Fire Department, which reports that property inspection work dropped from 40+ hours to about 20. Pricing is by quote.