This week we rolled out an update to introduce a new field — an unique property identifier, which we called OCID. This new feature can be helpful in few important ways:
- The Related tab — which highlights the chain of transactions that have occurred for a property — will be more stable, better handling changes to the same property, such as brand updates, street addresses and geo-coordinates.
- Using Advanced Search you can now search for a specific OCID. With that — and using the Saved Searches/Alert system — you can set up an email alerts to notify you of a new transaction for a specific property.
- OCIDs can be used to refer to a specific property between coworkers and friends clearly and efficiently.
OCIDs are alphanumeric with a length of six (6) characters. The first three (3) characters are lowercase letters, while the last three (3) are numbers. For example, xnk080 refers to 11 Howard in New York, NY.
If you are contributing to OpenComps — or entering your own private entries — you can use the +Add New wizard as usual. An unique OCID will automatically be created for your new property/transaction.
If you would like to add a transaction for an existing property — again, either public or private — locate the last transaction recorded for the property (using simple or advanced search) and use the +Add Related button on the transaction screen. This will (1) speed up your creation of a new transaction entry by carrying over property details such as street address, number of rooms, brand, etc. and, importantly, (2) preserve OCID and geocoding coordinates.
We already have a few ideas for other exciting new features we could do with OCID, but we would love to hear from you with your ideas and feedback.