Tools for Homebuyers

With the prevalence of personal compute use and gadgets like cell phones and PDAs with internet access, it’s no surprise that many real estate websites have come up with helpful tools for homebuyers. CNN Money has compiled five helpful tools that can help you find a home fast.

For iPhone users, you can get information about houses you see for sale through the use of an app. Rather than having to write down a broker’s information after seeing it on a for sale sign, you can enter it directly into an iPhone app from Zillow.com. Zillow released the free app last month in order to help consumers find information on over 88 million homes – and not just the ones for sale. The Zillow.com app is GPS-powered so the map moves with you as you house hunt while providing price estimate pop-ups along the way. If you enter information from a for sale sign, you can view pricing, number of bedrooms and baths, square footage, and more. Zillow’s CEO Rich Barton said, “House-hunting is, inherently, a mobile experience,” when he announced the app’s launch.

If you are looking for profitable investment tools, there is an website on the internet that could be extremely helpful in your search. Home prices are more affordable now than they have been in a while, and there are many bargains to be had. Investors can visit InvestorLoft.com’s PropScout tool to find great deals on investment properties. The PropScout tool offers several search filters that go beyond location and price. The Estimated Equity filter narrows your search by showing homes with big differences between listing price and estimated value, and the Cash Flow filter ranks homes by profits they produce. Also, the Cap Rate filter ranks properties by the percentage of profit on investment. This online tool includes listings in roughly 20 states and CEO Walter Charnoff expects it to cover all 50 by 2010. When using this tool, you can search by city, zip code, or property ID.

Trulia.com recently launched a nationwide filter that allows homebuyers to browse 3.2 million listings for price reductions. It’s as easy as entering your town or zip code and then viewing the reduced-price homes that pop up. Trulia also displays details such as the number of times the price has dropped, the dates, and by how much as well as the percentage of reduction. This information is very helpful since it can show that the seller is becoming anxious about making a sale and homebuyers can adjust their offers and maximize their buying power accordingly. If a certain property has gone through price cuts at regular intervals and is due for another soon, buyers might want to wait a few days or weeks to make an offer. Trulia also offers a new comparison feature that lets consumers view four listings at a time, making it easier to compare the features of each home. Trulia’s head of communications Ken Shuman says, “The tools can be used to take the pulse of the market today.”

More and more real estate agencies are turning to websites like YouTube to upload videos about specific listings and also testimonials from clients that have used their brokers in buying a home. King Realty Group has utilized this tool and has over 50 testimonial, listing, and informational videos uploaded on their YouTube channel. Visit the KRG YouTube channel here. 

Potential homebuyers who are curious about the future of their investments can obtain market reports at Cyberhomes. This service costs $9.95 and provides projections about specific neighborhoods in addition to a 12- and 24-month price-change forecast. It also reports the number of REO, foreclosure, and distressed properties within a given zip code and offers comparisons of these properties to the rest of the metro area and the state. Also, Cyberhomes estimates the strength of the local market and how the volume of sales will change over the next year. This site offers a logical look at a transaction that’s often laden with emotion. Homebuyers often jump to purchase homes they like, which can lead to overpaying. If the market report you get from Cyberhomes reveals that prices might fall sharply and that more homes will soon be available, homebuyers might slow down and make a better offer. If the report shows the market is going to bounce back, however, homebuyers might act on their decision and snag a better deal. Jay Gaskill, president of Cyberhomes, says, “In today’s market, an understanding of the future direction of property values and inventory levels are key factors.”