Property Listing Platform
Property search with real geospatial querying, so location filters answer from the database rather than from application code.
Problem
Property search is a location query first and a filter query second. A platform that stores coordinates as plain numbers and computes distance in application code works in testing and degrades continuously as listings grow.
Approach
Modelled locations as proper geospatial points with a spatial index from the start, so radius and bounding queries execute in the database. Listings carry media through object storage rather than the application, keeping upload traffic off the API path.
Outcome
Location-based property search that stays responsive as the catalogue grows, with media served from storage rather than through the application.
How it's built
Spatial indexing on listing coordinates, with media offloaded to object storage. The geospatial decision is made once at the schema level rather than retrofitted after the first slow query.
Spatial index from the first schema, not after the first complaint
Retrofitting geospatial querying means rewriting every location filter and backfilling every record. Deciding it up front costs nothing.
Slightly more care required on write, in exchange for the query pattern the product is built on.
Adjacent systems
Tourism Discovery Platform
Find hotels, restaurants and attractions near you, ranked by real distance, across three separate venue types in one query.
Vehicle Rental Platform
Rent a scooter or e-bike from an app: scan the QR, the physical lock opens over cellular, ride, park in a permitted zone, pay by the minute from a prepaid wallet.
Game Key Marketplace
A three-sided digital marketplace: a supplier catalogue of tens of thousands of listings, kept in sync, priced in local currency, sold through a payment gateway with automated key delivery.