Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!
It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part Three - CNNMoney.com's Real Estate Section

CNN has partnered with Money Magazine to provide helpful and very timely information about real estate - both on the macro level and the personal level.

Some specific reasons I like this site are:
* Timely Articles - Helps me keep up with national trends in real estate
* Calculators - I love all of CNNMoney's calculators - not just the real estate section. In the real estate section, you can find calculators for renovations, refinancing, cost of living comparisons, and shop for a mortgage. You can check out their calculators

Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part Two - Zillow.com

This is another way to research homes that are for sale in your area.

I like the clean feel of Zillow.com, and its of use. Here are some additional reasons I like Zillow.com:

* Market Dynamics Just below the search bar, Zillow provides an up-to-date number of homes that are on the market in the entire US. I like seeing the macroeconomic view of the housing market.
* Days on Zillow A key measure in real estate is "Days on Market" or DOM. Zillow has created a similar measurement called "Days on Zillow". This information can be utilized to construct a better offer.
* Make Me Move Feature Zillow has a feature where you can list your house without actually listing it. Basically, you provide a price that you would be willing to sell your house for and if someone decides to purchase your home, the "make me move" happens. Interesting concept!
* Recently Sold Feature This feature allows you to see the houses in your search area that have sold most recently and the price at which they sold.
* Home Values Index You can see what homes are selling for you in your area by a number of measures - including $/SF, Selling Price, and flips.

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com. Have you used this resource before?

Visit

Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part One - Realtor.com

I have used Realtor.com to find each of the four houses that I have purchased.

This web site is an excellent way to understand market prices and to understand market availability.

Here are some specific reasons I love Realtor.com:

* Easy to search You are able to select the specific items you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a garage, you can search for that. If you want to search for listings that include land, then you can select that also. Another key search criteria is square footage.
* Price range specific You can search for specific price ranges of houses within your set criteria. This really helps one understand what is available within that price range.
* Listings are mapped You can see all of the listings on a map. This is a great feature that allows you to understand the inventory available within the location you have selected.
* Pictures Many of the listings have photos of the exterior and interior. Instead of setting up a walkthrough, you can do so from your computer!
* Seamlessness Once you find some homes that you are interested in, you can select "Request a showing" from the actual listing. Awesome!

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com. Have you used this resource before?

Visit