While browsing the Rome board, I kept wanting a consistent price-per-square-metre filter. It would make local comparisons easier and cut down on repeated questions in valuation threads and market reports. I can see three approaches: a required field when posting, a tag, or a search filter based on structured property details. My concern is friction. Casual members should still be able to start a thread quickly, especially on mobile. Which approach would give useful results without turning the posting form into a questionnaire?
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Suggestion: add price-per-square-metre filters to the market boards
- Thread starter RightRoom
- Start date
I’d use optional price and area fields, then calculate the ratio for search. A member could ignore them for a general discussion, while someone posting a listing or valuation could add both. Tags would be less reliable because people would format the same figure in different ways.
Before choosing the interface, what exactly would the area field represent? A comparison becomes shaky if one thread uses internal floor area and another uses a broader listing figure. The price basis matters too. Even an optional field needs a short, clear description or Rome results may look more consistent than they really are.
avery.pike
Property investor
I disagree that fully optional fields will be enough. If most people skip them, the filter becomes nearly empty. Could they be required only for thread types such as listings and valuation requests, but absent from ordinary market discussion? That keeps casual conversation quick while making the posts intended for comparison more structured.
Marco’s split by thread type makes sense, but I’d still avoid blocking publication. On mobile, the form could show a compact “Add property details” section containing price and area. For relevant thread types it could be opened by default and strongly prompted, rather than mandatory. Once both values are present, the site could display the calculated price per square metre and make that thread eligible for filtering.
That distinction helps. I wasn’t intending every Rome discussion to carry a number; listings, valuations and reports are where I keep seeing the need. I’m also persuaded that tags would create too many variations. A calculated field seems cleaner, provided the entered price and area remain visible so readers can understand how the figure was produced.
For older threads, I wouldn’t attempt a bulk conversion. Leave them without a calculated value unless an author or moderator later adds the missing details. Guessing numbers from free text would create more trouble than having incomplete historical results.
field_book
Homeowner
There should also be an “area not stated” option in search results. Otherwise enabling a filter may silently hide useful older discussions. Members could choose between all threads, threads with a calculated figure, and threads where the necessary details are missing.
If this later expands beyond Rome, store the entered price, its currency and the area unit separately rather than treating the displayed ratio as plain text. Different boards may need different displays, but square metres can remain the common comparison option. I would not automatically rewrite old posts or convert ambiguous figures; structured filtering should begin with data members deliberately enter.
Search ranges would be much more useful than exact tags: minimum and maximum price per square metre, plus an option to sort. The results should also show whether the number was calculated from member-entered details. That addresses some of Luis’s concern because readers can inspect the inputs instead of treating every ratio as equally precise.
One more mobile point: keep those filters behind a single button. The Rome thread list is the part people need to see first.
A calculated number can still imply false comparability. Two properties may have the same ratio while differing in property type, condition or area definition. I support the filter, but it should narrow the list rather than present itself as a valuation tool. A brief note near the results would be enough.
Then a sensible first version seems fairly small: apply it only to relevant thread types, request price and area through structured fields, calculate the ratio when both exist, and let searches include or exclude threads with missing values. No manual tags and no forced migration. That also limits moderation work to correcting clearly misplaced thread types rather than policing every number.
NimbleWall
Property investor
I’d pilot that version on the Rome board before applying it more widely. Watch whether members complete the optional details, whether mobile posting still feels quick, and whether searches return enough comparable threads to be worthwhile. If completion is poor, stronger prompts for listings and valuations can be considered without making every market-board post more cumbersome.