Eli Boyer is the Marketing Coordinator and Dedicated Blogger for Quizzle’s sister company, In-House Realty.  In-House Realty specializes in matching home buyers and sellers with trusted real estate agents in all 50 states, for free!

Starting Your Home Search on the Web

As a “professional” who spends most of my workday in front of a LCD monitor on my desk, it made sense to utilize my web-savvy by initiating my own home search with the help of the World Wide Web.  After all, it’s the most convenient, non-committal, and information-rich means by which to begin what will likely be the biggest purchase of my young life.

Don’t get me wrong, if I do eventually move forward with a purchase, I plan on working with a trusted real estate agent.  However, there are a ton of websites that can at least help a guy narrow down his search.  In-House Realty’s website aside, here are a few good options that I’ve come across, with a brief review on each.

1. Craigslist.org

Everyone’s favorite “find anything here” website is hands-down my favorite site for browsing real estate listings.  It’s barebones, incredibly simple, and does without all the clutter of most real estate sites.  There are no articles, no advertisements, and generally no fluff.  It’s totally guilt-free browsing, and I’m all about it.

2. Trulia

A true real estate search engine, Trulia presents listings, trends and other info at the local level in a bright and user-friendly format.  They offer a hybrid list/map view when you narrow down your preferences and they even enable you to hone your search by neighborhood!  Their newest feature, however, is their best.  Trulia has teamed up with Google and their “Street View” map feature to let you virtually walk through the town of your preference.

3. Hotpads.com

A dark horse candidate in the real estate website sweepstakes, hotpads.com makes up for it’s anonymity with one of the smoothest operating map features on the web.  Hotpads.com’s focus is condo listings and apartment rentals in urban areas, and they get it right.  They even feature a foreclosure heat map to assist users looking for an investment property or overall great deal.

Honorable Mentions

Realtor.com – The most comprehensive search on the web, but the current format is cluttered.

Zillow.com – It’s great for home values, but the search feature is a little bit slow and confusing.

Roost.com – Simple, clear and user friendly, but it isn’t tapped into enough markets.

[tags]quizzle, in-house realty, real estate listings, real estate web sites, search for homes, craigslist, trulia, hotpads.com, realtor.com, zillow, roost[/tags]