When Apple upgraded its iPhone’s operating system in July, it added the ability to add applications to the cell phone-iPod hybrid. Along with the expected assortment of games and productivity software, third-party developers released several great real estate applications.

The best one I’ve found is rawthought’s free Puluwai Real Estate Search (the link goes to the iTunes Store).

Ever been house hunting, come across a great neighborhood, and wondered what homes there sell for? Rather than having to remember to look up that information when you return home, with Puluwai Real Estate Search you can “quickly search homes for sale near you.”

The iPhone’s GPS will prefill your location (if you have the first generation iPhone, which does not have GPS, it will estimate your location based on your proximity to cell phone towers and WiFi networks–it’s close enough) or you can enter it manually. You then can select the price range, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and keywords the listing should include (for example, pool or in-law suite).

Or if you’re just curious about prices in the neighborhood, set the minimum price to $0 and the maximum to, say, $100 million or so.

Puluwai Real Estate Search will return a list of search results that match your criteria. Tapping a result brings up a detailed listing, complete with pictures.

If you see a property you are interested in touring, from the listing you can tap the share it icon in the top right, and then e-mail it directly to me or one of the other realtors at Brandon Green Companies. We’ll be happy to schedule a tour for you.

One drawback to the application, however, is that the listings aren’t as thorough as what’s available on our site.