A Short Hello from Bill and Joe
Wow, times have changed! In the old days (about fifteen years ago) the only people who could access information about homes for sale were Real Estate Agents. All of the information used to be hidden in a system called the “Multiple Listing Service” (MLS). But with the advent of the Internet, all of the information about homes for sale is now available to anyone. This absolutely benefits you. Now, you can pull up any neighborhood, and get tons of information (intelligence). And, one of the best things you can do is to see which Real Estate Agents are actively working in the neighborhood you like. Go ahead, try it out. You’ll quickly be able to see which agent or agency is getting the most listings in your area. That’s a good place to start when looking for an agent to represent you.
BTW, it is important that you take an active role in discovering ALL of the homes that are available for you. Don’t wait for your agent to find them all for you. Get out there, get active, become your own agent. You’ll still need the services of a professional, but the more you do for yourself, the more you’ll learn about the marketplace. This information will come in handy when you negotiate a price for your new home.
Chat GPT found 5 online search tools for you to use. Joe and Bill like Zillo the best, but it might not be the best for you and your neighborhood. Check them all out, and then read Joe and Bill’s eXpert Advie below.
ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence
There are many online tools that you can use to search for available listings in certain neighborhoods. Some popular ones include:
Zillow: This is a real estate and rental marketplace that allows you to search for homes for sale and for rent. You can search for homes by location, price range, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other criteria.
Redfin: This is another real estate marketplace that allows you to search for homes for sale and for rent. In addition to the standard search criteria, Redfin also has a "Commute" feature that allows you to search for homes based on the commute time to a specific location.
Realtor.com: This is a comprehensive real estate website that allows you to search for homes for sale and for rent, as well as find information on local real estate markets.
Trulia: This is a real estate search engine that allows you to search for homes for sale and for rent, and find information on local real estate markets.
Homes.com: This is a real estate website that allows you to search for homes for sale and for rent, as well as find information on local real estate markets.
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XAI (eXpert Advice and Insights from Joe and Bill)
As we stated above, Joe and Bill like using Zillow the best. But no matter which tool you use, take a look at these three bits of intelligence that they all provide. It will really help you when you negotiate a price:
How long has the property been on the market? This is usually stated in “Days on Market.” If it has been on the market much longer than other properties in that area, something is wrong. Maybe it’s the house, maybe it’s the price.
Find the “Price History.” It’s amazing what you can discover when you use your intelligence! You will be able to see exactly what the price history has been. Have they been lowering the price over time? It’s all there for you.
Did you know that you can discover when the Seller bought the house, and how much they paid for it? This is extremely important for you to know, because it tells you how much equity the Seller has in the house, and therefore, how much you can push them in a negotiation.
Hey, there’s lots more intelligence available on these sites, such as what are the property taxes, etc. The more you know, the easier it is to negotiate, and to make a decision about buying or passing on the property.
AI (Alumni Intelligence)
From Sandy Larson, class of 2010: After I do a search on Zillow, can I go look at the houses myself, or do I have to go with a real estate agent?