Sawbuck Realty announced that its free HomeSnap app has become one of the top lifestyle apps available on the iTunes store. It has been downloaded 200,000 times from the time it was launched.

HomeSnap allows users to simply snap a picture of any home in the U.S. and easily decipher every detail about it. The application was awarded the “Most Innovative Mobile App” at Inman’s Real Estate Connect conference. It has also won TechCocktail’s “Most Innovative Technology” award.

The service has closed its latest funding round for a total of $3.5 million from Revolution (News - Alert) Ventures and Washington, DC real estate investor, Robert Stewart.

“HomeSnap is all about discovery. This funding will allow us to continue building on the HomeSnap model that rewards curiosity and real-world exploration for buyers and browsers alike,” said Sawbuck co-founder and CEO, Guy Wolcott. “With the help of the Revolution team, we will focus on additional innovation and monetizing the model.”

HomeSnap patent-pending technology employs multiple iPhone (News - Alert) sensors, and proprietary advanced algorithms to identify each home. It provides buyers with all required information about a home.

The photo of the house is used to garner information which comes from Sawbuck’s big data resource encompassing tax records, Multiple Listing Service or MLS data, school information, attendance zones, Census demographics, neighborhood information, lot boundaries, geolocation data and others.

Sawbuck is also developing Android (News - Alert) and iPad versions of the app. Work is in progress to make ways to apply the functionality to condos, co-ops, rentals and other categories.

More features will be added and the company plans to develop a Web ecosystem to support HomeSnap’s mobile-first approach, according to officials.

The company’s core business focus is on online real estate brokerage. Users can start their home buying process online or via a mobile device by browsing MLS data. They can actually start looking for a suitable house before committing to real estate agents.

When buyers have a fair idea of what they need, Sawbuck will connect them with an agent from its network to arrange a tour or make a deal.

“HomeSnap has the potential to transform real estate discovery,” said Tige Savage (News - Alert), managing director of Revolution Ventures. “We have been following Guy and the Sawbuck team for over a year and have been impressed by the team’s vision to disrupt the real estate market and their ability to execute.”

Sawbuck Realty unveiled its Sawbuck Real Estate app for the iPhone and iPod touch in 2011. The Sawbuck app is designed to let users search the Multiple Listing Service for homes for sale, open houses and recent sales.

The app uses the iPhone’s social media, GPS and data collection capabilities to allow users to find, tour and evaluate the properties they like most.

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