High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! HotPads.com is an map-based rental housing and real estate search engine. Launched in November 2005, the site allows users to search for housing using a graphical map. Listings are displayed at their addresses, allowing users to conduct a location-based search. Through the graphical interface, users click on individual property listings depicted by animated building icons. Whereas many websites are mash-ups of other mapping applications, like Google Maps, HotPads uses its own original mapping application.