🗺️ Market Explorer - User Guide

📋 Overview

The Market Explorer shows you real estate market data at four levels of detail:

• 🌎 National — all 50 states at a glance
• 🏛️ State — every county within the selected state
• 📍 County — every ZIP code and city within the county
• 🏘️ ZIP / City — historical trend charts for that specific area

At every level you see an interactive map, a selectable chart panel, and a set of summary stat cards updated from the most recent data available. A "Data as of" badge tells you exactly how fresh the data is.

🧭 How to Navigate

Market Explorer uses a drill-down model. You start at the national level and click into progressively smaller geographies.

Breadcrumb Navigation

A breadcrumb trail at the top of the page (e.g. National › California › Los Angeles County) always shows where you are. Click any crumb to jump back to that level instantly. You can also use the ← Back button to go up one level at a time.

County names include the correct suffix — County, Parish (Louisiana), or Borough (Alaska) — so they are never confused with cities of the same name.

🏠 Property Type Filter

A row of buttons at the top of the page filters all data — the map, charts, stat cards, and tables — to show metrics for a specific property type:

Switching property types reloads the entire page at the current drill-down level — map markers, charts, and all table data update to reflect the selected type. The active button is highlighted.

📊 Stat Cards

Four summary cards appear at the top of every level, showing averages across all the areas at the current level (e.g., all counties when viewing a state).

Demographics Card

Below the four main stat cards, a Demographics card shows census data for the current area:

• Med. Income — Median household income (US Census ACS)
• Homeown% — Owner-occupied housing rate; lower = more renters and potential distressed owners
• Poverty% — Population below poverty line; higher can mean more motivated sellers
• Med. Age — Median resident age; older populations generate more estate sales
• Vacancy% — Housing vacancy rate; high vacancy may indicate a distressed neighbourhood
• Flip Score — Composite score (0–100) combining all signals (income, poverty, homeownership, DOM, price trend, sale/list, vacancy, housing age). Higher = better flip market.

📈 Chart Metrics

The chart panel shows one chart at a time. Click any metric button above the chart to switch what is displayed. All charts can be filtered to All Data (full history) or 1 Year (most recent 12 months). Click any chart to expand it full-screen.

🗺️ Interactive Map

The map panel sits alongside the charts and updates automatically as you navigate between levels. It plots a coloured badge on every location in the current view. The map panel can be collapsed using the ▲ button to give the table more space.

Clicking Map Markers

Hover Tooltips

Hover your mouse over any map badge to see a tooltip showing multiple metric values for that location — DOM, Median Price, Price Change, Sale/List ratio, and more — regardless of which metric is currently active on the badges.

Map Controls

• Scroll to zoom — use the mouse wheel directly over the map (no need to hold Ctrl)
• Click and drag — pan the map
• Map / Satellite — toggle between road map and satellite imagery using the buttons in the top-left
• Full screen — use the ⛶ button in the top-right corner of the map

🎨 Map Metric Buttons

A row of buttons above the map lets you choose what value and colour each marker displays. Switching is instant — markers update in place without reloading the map. The legend at the bottom of the map always reflects the active metric.

📋 Table Column Tabs

All data tables have a tab strip above them that switches the visible set of columns. This keeps the table focused and easy to read without hiding useful data.

🔢 Understanding the Numbers

Colour Coding on Days on Market (DOM) — Tables

In the data tables, the DOM column uses a 4-band colour scale matching the map markers:

Tier Badges (Counties & ZIPs)

Counties and ZIP codes are assigned a Tier based on their investment potential score:

Score Bar (Counties & ZIPs)

Next to the Tier is a visual score bar showing the numeric score out of 100. Click the column header to sort by score and surface the highest-potential areas quickly.

Flip Score

The Flip Score is a composite 0–100 score combining eight signals: median income, poverty rate, homeownership rate, average DOM, price trend, sale/list ratio, vacancy rate, and median housing age. A score above 70 indicates a market with strong fundamentals for finding and exiting flip deals. Available in the Demographics tab and as a map metric.

Sale/List Ratio

Expressed as a percentage (e.g., 97.5%). Below 100% means homes sold for less than asking price on average. Areas below 97% often indicate sellers are already accepting below-list offers — a good hunting ground for off-market or negotiated deals. Above 100% signals bidding wars.

Price Change % — Tables

The Price Chg 12m column shows the year-over-year change in median sale price:

• +5.2% — green means prices are appreciating (good exit momentum)
• -1.3% — red means prices are declining (more caution needed, but can signal motivated sellers)

Rental Metrics

The Rental table tab shows data from market-level rental surveys:

• Med. Rent — Median monthly asking rent
• Avg Rent — Average monthly rent (skewed by higher-end units)
• Rent/SqFt — Median rent per square foot
• Rental DOM — Median days a rental listing sits before being taken; lower = higher demand
• Listings — Total active rental listings in the area

⏱️ Time Filters

Two buttons in the chart controls row let you choose how much historical data is shown:

• All Data — Shows the full historical record (back to 2012 for most markets). Use this to understand long-term trends and see how the market behaved through different cycles.
• 1 Year — Shows only the most recent 12 months of data. Use this for a focused current view without the noise of older history.

📋 States Table (National Level)

The states table shows the most recent snapshot values for each state. All columns are sortable — click a header once to sort ascending, click again to sort descending.

Market Data Tab

Demographics Tab

Use the Filter states… box to quickly find a specific state by name.

📋 Counties Table (State Level)

After clicking a state, you see all its counties. The county name includes the correct suffix (County, Parish in Louisiana, or Borough in Alaska) in the page title and breadcrumb.

Market Data Tab

Demographics & Rental Tabs

Same columns as described in the Table Column Tabs section. The Rental tab is hidden when Land property type is selected.

📋 ZIP Codes & Cities Tables (County Level)

Inside a county, you can switch between two tabs:

• ZIP Codes — every ZIP in the county with Tier, Score, and market metrics. The City column shows the USPS city name for that ZIP (e.g., "Woodland Hills" for ZIP 91364 in Los Angeles).
• Cities — every city in the county with aggregated city-level data.

Rows with market data are clickable — clicking drills into that specific ZIP or city to show its individual historical charts.

ZIP Codes — Market Data Columns

Cities — Market Data Columns

⚖️ Wholesaling Laws Tab

At the national (states) level, a second tab labelled ⚖️ Wholesaling Laws appears beside the Market Data tab. This tab shows a state-by-state summary of wholesaling regulations:

You can use the Filter states… search box to quickly locate a specific state while on the laws tab.

🌿 Land Mode

Selecting Land from the property type buttons switches the entire page into a specialized land-market view. This is useful for investors looking at vacant lots, raw land, or development parcels alongside their residential flip research.

In Land mode:

• The map shows land sale prices (median price per area) instead of residential prices
• The stat cards show the land median sale price; Days on Market, Months of Supply, and Homes Sold show "—" (these metrics are not tracked for land)
• The chart shows median and average land sale price over time; all other metric buttons are hidden since they don't apply to land
• The tables automatically show the land data columns; the Rental tab is hidden

🔍 Sorting & Filtering

Sorting

Every table column with a sortable header can be clicked to sort:

• First click — sorts ascending (A→Z or low→high)
• Second click — sorts descending (Z→A or high→low)
• An arrow indicator on the header shows the current sort direction
• Rows with no data always float to the bottom regardless of sort direction

Filtering

Each table level has a search/filter input box:

• States level — Filter states… (filters by state name)
• Counties level — Filter counties… (filters by county name)
• County detail — Filter… (filters by ZIP code number or city name)

Filtering is live — results update as you type. The count badge next to the table title always shows the total number of rows (not the filtered count).

🔎 Expanding Charts

Click any chart card to open a full-screen expanded modal view. The expanded view:

• Shows the same data with larger fonts and bigger data points
• Displays up to 18 date labels on the x-axis instead of 8
• Makes it easier to read exact values by hovering

To close the expanded chart:

• Press Esc
• Click the ✕ button in the top-right of the modal
• Click anywhere outside the chart area

💡 Tips & Best Practices

Using the Map to Find Opportunities

1. Start with Days on Market (the default) — look for red or amber markers at the state level. These are the markets where homes sit longest and sellers have the most pressure.
2. Switch to Price Change — look for amber and red areas where prices are flat or declining. Combined with high DOM, this is a strong motivated-seller signal.
3. Switch to Sale/List — look for green areas where the ratio is well below 100%. These are buyer-friendly markets where you can negotiate discounts.
4. Try Flip Score — this composite metric combines all the above into one number. Sort by Flip Score at the ZIP level to quickly rank every area.

Finding the Best Markets in the Table

1. Sort states by Avg DOM descending to find states where homes sit longest — most seller pressure.
2. Drill into a state, sort counties by Score descending to surface Tier A and B counties with the best investment fundamentals.
3. Switch to Demographics tab, sort by Flip Score to identify areas with the best combination of demographic and market signals.
4. Drill to ZIP level, sort by DOM descending to find the specific ZIPs within a county where properties sit longest.
5. Switch to Rental tab to compare Rental DOM — areas with low rental DOM have strong rental demand, which helps if your flip doesn't sell quickly.

Reading Rent History

At the ZIP, city, and county level, the Median Rent chart shows a real month-by-month rent trend — not just a single snapshot. Use this to:

• See whether rents in your target area are rising or flat
• Estimate cash flow potential if holding a property as a rental
• Compare rent trajectory against sale price trajectory for the same area

Comparing Markets

Open Market Explorer in two browser tabs to compare markets side by side. Drill into different counties or states in each tab, set both to the same time filter, and compare charts and map views to see which market shows more opportunity.