Curb and Web Appeal
By
Mary Clare Glover
When it comes to real-estate listings, multiple listings service Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS) is king. But only agents can access its data directly. Owned by MRIS, Homesdatabase.com is the next-best option. It covers 22,000 square miles in five states, including DC, Maryland, and Virginia. One caveat: It doesn’t list street addresses, so you have to go to a broker for detailed information. Brokerage site ZipRealty includes neighborhood data such as average household income and crime statistics. Real-estate search engine Trulia lets you sign up to get an e-mail alert if a specific address in its database goes on the market. All three sites also let you search by house characteristics—such as number of bedrooms and baths, style, size, and price—and register your preferences so you’ll hear when any home that meets them becomes available. Redfin lets buyers research neighborhoods, find houses for sale, and negotiate offers, all online. Looking to rent? Check out Hotpads, which superimposes rental listings on interactive maps and includes photos as well as information on amenities and lease terms. If you’re more interested in real-estate snooping than listings, check out Zillow or Eppraisal, which offer free home valuations and recent sales data. This article appears in the December 2007 issue of The Washingtonian.
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Comments
I like Redfin’s site the best. In my opinion it has the best information about the houses and also has the most up-to-date.
Posted by: Jerry, Jan 02, 2008 07:36:29 PM
HotPads.com also has homes for sale. And you can compare rentals and home for-sale by monthly payment on the same map. It’s by far the most fun to use of all of these.
Posted by: Gregory Linden, Dec 27, 2007 11:37:54 AM
ziprealty has the best site of the ones mentioned. they have the most homes for sale and have some good information about the homes, like which ones have had their prices dropped. i also like all of the recent home sales they have.
Posted by: Mike, Dec 27, 2007 10:33:23 AM
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