The days of sitting down at the kitchen table and turning through the Sunday paper to browse the new home listings is becoming a thing of the past. With computers and internet access in most of today's homes it is as easy as typing in a few words to have a plethora of homes to consider, all at your fingertips!
Thanks to the internet you can find all the initial information you need to decide if a particular home is within your needs and warrants your time to investigate further. Most helpful perhaps is the ability to look at pictures of homes, both inside and out, right from the comfort of your own computer, saving yourself time and effort.
There are many places to start your search online, from designated websites that pull from the MLS to more general websites like Craigslist. It's all out there. You can combine several internet search engines to get a comprehensive look and be sure not to miss out on homes, including those being FSBO.
Don't waste your time paging through thousands of homes? You can be specific in your searches as to location desires, school districts, price, and even down to the number of baths, garage, or lot size. Maybe you only want to look at homes with a fireplace, or pool. You can do that. The options are endless.
Most real estate agents and their brokers offer websites for searching their listings. And you can surely find local MLS listings on Realtor.com or Trulia.com. These sites will allow you to search under the specifications you choose.
On the other end of the spectrum, from a selling standpoint, the internet is a very valuable tool for the marketing your home. Of all homebuyers, 87% used the Internet to search for a home in 2008, up from 84% in 2007, 80% in 2006, and just 2% back in 1997.
Don't have time to spend in front of the computer? Let us do the work for you! The Parrish Team can set up an individualized search to fit your exact needs. And update you as soon as listings hit the market. What better way to stay on top of the competition.
