Best Online tool to search for Properties

The age of technology has produced a barrage of online services that deal exclusively with real estate listings and forever changed the way in which Americans search for homes. Gone are the days when engaging a real estate agent and scouting neighborhoods like Stone Mountain, GA was the only way to find houses for sale. In today’s society you need only turn on the computer to find home prices, search for houses in a particular neighborhood, or take virtual tours of those that spark your interest. All of the main services offer mobile apps and some apps even offer suggestions based on homes that you’ve looked at in the past. Most of these services receive their data from any number of sources, including real estate agents, public record, tax assessors, and homeowners.

Zillow

Zillow is perhaps one of the most popular online real estate services. They gained fame with their Zestimates, which are estimates of home value that derive from their formula that includes public records of home sales. Over time, Zillow has gotten more data and their estimates have become more accurate, although it should be noted that they are still only estimates.

You can also view information from old listings on Zillow, which is a plus if there are no photos included in a listing. There is also data available for homes that aren’t on the market and you can view properties near those that interest you to view old listing data, sales history, as well as satellite maps that allow you to see what amenities are nearby. For example, if you want to buy a home in Stone Mountain, GA, but want to know what hospitals are in the area, all you need to do is look at the satellite map.

Trulia

Trulia is another popular portal that gets information from various sources. It has all the perks of the other services, with the addition of its unique “heat maps.” These allow you to easily check out crime, commute times, schools, and other amenities such as grocery stores and banks in your neighborhood of choice. You can even view the probability of natural disasters like earthquakes or tornados. Some of these stats are available with other services, but not in Trulia’s unique formatting.

Trulia also allows you to make a map of the vicinity in which you want to search in addition to searching for houses by city or ZIP code. It also suggests houses based on individual search history and sends alerts for new listings as well as homes that you’ve followed.

These are just two of the many search tools that can be used when searching for homes online. One thing that they all have in common however is that they lack that personal attention that your real estate agent can give you. There are a myriad of small search sites such as http://cliffj2007.listingbook.com that offer a more one on one approach to your search. Local sites such as these, along with localized real estate sites, such as wwww.stonemountaingeorgiahomes.com , can help you get a more personalized search from an agent who is familiar with the area. While statistics and satellite photos may give you an overall view of the area, speaking with someone who has first- hand knowledge of the neighborhoods, people, and amenities is something that you can’t find with the larger online services.