apartment-search

name	apartment-search
version	0.1.0
description	Search NYC apartment listings using NYBits (no-bot-detection). Works from headless servers where StreetEasy/Zillow/Apartments.com block with captchas. Supports filtering by neighborhood, bedrooms, price, fee status, and amenities. Use this skill whenever the user asks to find, search, or browse apartments in NYC.
triggers	["apartment","rental","2br","1br","for rent","find apartment","search apartment","listing"]

Apartment Search Skill

Problem

Major NYC real estate sites (StreetEasy, Zillow, Apartments.com, RentHop) all use aggressive bot detection (Cloudflare, captchas, "Press & Hold") that blocks headless browsers on cloud servers. Google Search also blocks from datacenter IPs.

Solution: NYBits.com

NYBits is a smaller NYC rental aggregator that does NOT use bot detection. It works with both curl and headless Chrome from cloud servers.

How NYBits Search Works

NYBits uses a server-side HTML form (not AJAX). URL query params alone DON'T work — the form requires hidden session tokens (_rid_, _ust_todo_, _xid_).

Step 1: Load the search page

Navigate browser to: https://www.nybits.com/search/

Step 2: Fill form via JavaScript

Use browser_console to set form values and submit:

(() => {
    const f = document.forms['sform'];
    // Uncheck "all", check desired layout
    document.getElementById('sball').checked = false;
    document.getElementById('sb2').checked = true;  // sb0=studio, sb1=1br, sb2=2br, sb3=3+
    // Set max rent
    f.elements['!!rmax'].value = '6000';
    // Set fee: 'nofee' or 'any'
    f.querySelector('input[name="!!fee"][value="any"]').checked = true;
    // Check neighborhoods
    f.querySelectorAll('input[name="nei"]').forEach(cb => {
        if (cb.value === 'downtown_brooklyn' || cb.value === 'long_island_city') cb.checked = true;
    });
    f.querySelector('input[type="submit"]').click();
    return 'submitted';
})()

Step 3: Extract results via JavaScript

After the results page loads:

(() => {
    const arts = document.querySelectorAll('article');
    const listings = [];
    arts.forEach(a => {
        const title = a.querySelector('h3')?.textContent?.trim() || '';
        const price = a.textContent.match(/\$[\d,]+\/month/)?.[0] || '';
        const beds = a.textContent.match(/(\d+)\s*Beds?/)?.[1] || '';
        const baths = a.textContent.match(/([\d.]+)\s*Baths?/)?.[1] || '';
        const link = a.querySelector('a')?.href || '';
        listings.push({ title, price, beds, baths, link });
    });
    return JSON.stringify(listings);
})()

Step 4: Check individual listings for amenities

Navigate to each listing URL. The description paragraph reveals in-unit W/D and other details not shown in search results. Use curl for speed:

curl -sL -A "Mozilla/5.0" "<listing_url>" | grep -oP 'listing__text[^>]*>\K[^<]+'

Available Neighborhoods (NYBits nei values)

See references/nybits-neighborhoods.md for the complete list. Key ones:

Brooklyn: downtown_brooklyn, brooklyn_heights, dumbo, bushwick, flatbush, greenpoint, park_slope, williamsburg

Queens: long_island_city, astoria, rego_park, ridgewood

Manhattan: alphabet_city, battery_park_city, chelsea, east_village, financial_district, gramercy_park, hells_kitchen, hudson_yards, kips_bay, midtown_east, murray_hill, soho, tribeca, upper_east_side, upper_west_side, west_village, stuy_town, and many more.

Form Fields Reference

Field	Name	Values
Layout	!!atypes	studio, 1br, 2br, 3more, room
Min rent	!!rmin	number
Max rent	!!rmax	number
Fee status	!!fee	nofee, any
Sort order	!!orderby	dateposted, neighborhood, rent
Neighborhoods	nei	see list above (repeatable)
Amenities	checkbox names	doorman, elevator, gym, garage, children

Pitfalls

1. URL params don't work — the form requires session tokens; must use browser JS
2. Checkbox all must be unchecked first — otherwise all layouts are returned
3. Variable redeclaration errors — browser_console runs in shared scope; wrap code in IIFE (() => { ... })() or use var instead of const/let if re-running
4. NYBits has limited inventory — may have 0 results for some neighborhoods; try expanding to adjacent areas
5. In-unit W/D not in search filters — must check individual listing descriptions
6. submit button naming conflict — NYBits names its submit button submit, which shadows form.submit(). Use btn.click() instead.
7. ⚠️ NYBits pricing can be STALE — prices shown may not match current StreetEasy or building-site listings. User reported a listing showing $5,700 on NYBits but $6,895 on the actual site. Always verify prices on the building's own website or StreetEasy before presenting to the user. NYBits is useful for discovery (finding buildings/neighborhoods with inventory) but NOT as a source of truth for pricing.
8. Browserbase plan requirements — residential proxies and advanced stealth (needed for StreetEasy/Zillow) require Browserbase Scale plan, not Launch. The API returns 402 for proxies on Launch plan, and the code gracefully falls back to no proxies. Without proxies, Browserbase sessions are blocked by the same captchas as local Chrome. See references/browserbase-plans.md for details.

Multi-Source Strategy (Future)

If more inventory is needed, try these additional sources that may work:

• ListingsProject.com — returned HTTP 200 from curl, may have listings
• NakedApartments.com — no-fee focused
• The Listings Project (newsletter) — weekly curated no-fee listings

Major sites requiring stealth mode (BROWSERBASE_ADVANCED_STEALTH):

• StreetEasy, Zillow, Apartments.com, RentHop — all blocked from datacenter IPs