union park gardens homes for sale

5 Best Websites to Find Homes for Sale

CC0/ midascode/Pixabay

Finding a new home is easy now when you check out the five sites suggested here. Buying a home is always a long process but the perfect place could be the only place you live your whole life so it's worth the time, stress and effort. Years ago you needed a real estate agent to find the best properties but now you can do most of the work yourself without an expert's expensive help and guidance. Making an informed choice when you buy a property will take a lot of the stress out and the five real estate websites featured here will all help you to understand the market and make the right decision.

Homefinder

This site makes accessing public information about a property very easy, so make it the first site you refer to when you've found somewhere you're interested in. You'll find the basic information you'd expect about a property including the room sizes and how many bathrooms it has, but the site also makes information like the utility bill estimates just as easy to locate. Ease of use is one of the main reasons Homefinder is great for all users.

Zillow

One of the best features of this site is Zillow's price estimate. This gives you a guide to the current property prices in the area you're interested in moving to so you can compare the asking price against the estimate to see how ambitious or realistic the current homeowner's price is. You can also find information on the price and tax history of the property, which is taken from public records. Filter on foreclosures, for sale by owner or new constructions to make a short list of properties that fulfill your requirements.

Homes

This website pulls its data from other sites including MLS to produce an aggregate of information about what places are on sale in your area. You can view a list of the local schools, get an estimate of the monthly taxes you'll pay or check out estimates of the insurance premiums you'll need in place if you're going to own the property, as well an idea of how much the mortgage will cost. You can't take everything on the site as totally accurate as much of the information is taken from users rather than being pulled from public databases.

Redfin

If you want a really interactive experience, head to Redfin where you can get a 3D tour of properties, street views and a guide to the neighborhood. The site also offers information on public transport access and rates each property by its walkability and its bikability, which gives you an idea of whether you could move there and live without a car. The site rates nearby schools too, so those with growing families will get a lot out of Redfin.

Multiple Listing Service

The best information by far comes from Multiple Listing Service. MLS's site offers accurate, up to date information that comes from licensed real estate professionals. Members of the general public can check out the site but the information you get is a watered down version of what the professionals have access to. The third-party site MLS.com is a useful place to visit but you'll need to know a helpful real estate agent or broker if you want access to everything contained in MLS.