Using the Internet Effectively

Buyers are flocking to the internet to research the market and find properties to purchase. It's no wonder. The internet has allowed us all the convenience of finding information at our own leisure from the privacy of our own homes. There has also been an explosion of websites all seeking to gleam a portion of that web traffic looking for real estate information. With that has come a need for internet users, home buyers, to decide which sites are providing the right information.

Search Engines

Many people begin their search from a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Common search terms are things like my city real estate. Replace my city with the name of your particular location. Other common search terms would be my city real estate for sale, my city homes for sale, my city property listings, etc. These types of searches tend to bring up the websites of real estate agents in the area or the pages of some of the larger national sites.

Realtor Websites

Many agents now place all their listings on their website and have a searchable database of homes. Some even tie their database into the MLS (multiple listing service) to allow users to search the entire database of properties. Not just the ones associated with that agent.

Agent websites that are found on page one of the major search engines generally have made a lot of effort (often at considerable expense) to ensure their site is ranked high for the common search terms web surfers are using. Part of which is providing lots of useful content on the site. You should often find that these agent sites have everything your looking for, particularly if their system allows you to search the entire MLS

For Sale by Owner Sites

This sector of the market has seen some significant growth due to the internet. Its a sector a buyer should be looking into. Often some of the best properties are sold privately. When the owner knows they have a "hot" property selling privately is easy and well worth the savings in commission fees. But due to the nature of private sales and the number of independent FSBO websites, you will often need to browse multiple sites.

There is no one central database of private listings like the MLS system for agent listings. You'll have to search around to find a few sites with private listings. Again search engines can help to find such sites. Some of the bigger sites include Craigslist.org, a large free classifieds service, FSBO.com, and Obares.com. In Canada there is RealtyTree.ca as well as Craigslist.org.

Most Viewed Articles

Appraisal Value vs. Asking Price

Making Real Estate Offer's

Realtor vs. Private Sale

Asking Price vs. Selling Price

Home Buying Tips

Home Selling Tips

More on Appraisals Value vs. Selling Price

Real Estate Directory > For Sale by Owner > Real Estate Agents >

Resources  | Site Map