Ranking the real estate search websites

No, the paper didn't actually rank them, I'm asking you to do that. What the paper did is test-drive some of the most popular websites for real estate searches. You can read that article here, or view each of the websites in screen-grab form here. I'll list the sites below, for your convenience, but the real purpose of this is to ask you: Which ones do you like, and why? Feel free to suggest sites that are not on the list below.

Real estate search websites:

Coldwellbanker.com
Homescape@latimes.com
Homegain.com
RealEstate.aol.com
RealEstate.msn.com
RealEstate.Yahoo.com
Realtor.com
Redfin.com
Remax.com
Trulia.com
Zillow.com
ZipRealty.com

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Photo credit: Los Angeles Times screen grab of www.trulia.com

Comments

[It All Happens on the Margin]

No mention in the online home search article about the lack of critical information on realtor.com and remax.com that is on sites like redfin and ziprealty:

- Days on Market ???
- Last sale price / sales history ???
- Price reductions ???
- Previously closed sales for comps ???

These are amongst the most important bits of info for a buyer, especially in a buyers market.

WTF, LAT?

[Laker]

Redfin is no.1 of that list as it merges the listing information together with past sale records.
All the RE realtor sites do not increase true days on market and sure not include last sale history - Redfin does.
It also included the valuation estimates from three different companies including zillow. (Yet as of late, it does not display the zestimate for some reason...)
Redfin also added the street view from google earth, so you can now inspect the house from outside without even driving.
Zillow is nice as it gives you a top view of most properties, it displays sales history, and property valuations. It does not display MLS listing only if a realtor actually posts it there.
It has an overinflated valuation method, buy once you take the proper factors into consideration (subtract 20%) , the zestimate could be quite useful.
Another website not on this list is properyshark.
The site is awesome as it provide access to public records online. This information was always available, but you had to go to city hall to get that. Now it is within mouse clicks.
Another good site is realtytrac.com It shows most properties in all stages of default/foreclosure. Although you need to pay $50 per month, if you are interested in this, it is worth it. Though, if you know how to use the combination of these sites, you can get same info without registering and paying the fees.
1)Redfin
2)PropertyShark
3)Zillow
4)Realtytrac

[MarkW]

1. Redfin - Good: Gives last sale price/date and you can see price drops on properties for sale. Bad: Properties that are relisted loose the price drop info. No land listings. Very limited Foreclosure listings.

2. Trulia - Good: Great source for RealtyTrac foreclosure info. Bad: Can't get exact address without paying monthly RealtyTrac fee.

3. Zillow - Good: Innovator with Zestimate. Bad: Seems to be losing relevance.

I don't use any of the MLS sites, they are useless.

I would add Propertyshark. You can get very detailed info on past sales (actual scanned documents). Even things like wildfire area maps.

I would also add LA County Office of the assessor website. You can view the assessor maps (as PDF's), see area sales (incuding land sales), and see AIN changes (may indicate lot splits).

[Mmm donuts]

If you are a buyer, redfin.com is your friend. They give us access to data that has traditionally been hidden from buyers. Realtors and MLS for so long have had an unfair advantage by keeping information from buyers, and redfin helps even this out a good bit.

[kosher krab]

I like Trulia's " popularity" info under market stats. It's interesing to see those heat maps on what areas are being searched. Realtor.com always has the most listiings but that's because they don't remove the sold houses promplty. I like Movoto, they list pending sales.

[Uncle Billy Loves Naomi Klein]

It lacks the eye candy, but this is by far the most practical site I've encountered.

http://www.habil.is/lix/jalta?MatGroupTemp=
106034&Devo&english&

[It All Happens on the Margin]

Funny how the best RE sites have simply done a better job with mashups (maps, property data, estimate tools, MLS info, etc).

ZipRealty is a mixed bag, but the integration with Zillow and the school data are critical for me. Plus they have an interactive map like RedFin. Downside is they're missing FSBOs, streetview, and you may get nagged by an agent.

RedFin has the GMap street view integration, so you can see if there's a high tension wire, if the neighbor across the street parks an old RV, or who exactly would be looking in on your yard.

Bottom line is the more you can stay on one site and be productive, the better.

Another observation: "location is everything" to agents yet the map integration on the non-MLS sites is so much better on the rogue sites. MLS sites also leave out the critical data I referenced above as they are protecting the agents, not the buyers, prompting a prospect to call to get this formerly sacred data (DOM, commission %, sales history, price history, etc.).

[sfvrealestate]

Question to it all happens on the margin: at the end of the day, if you would like to make an offer on a house, what do you CARE about days on market, price reductions, etc.? Presumably, you've familiarized yourself with the recent neighborhood sales comparables (easy to find in many ways) and you're going to make your offer based on those comps, not what the marketing has been. That's how your bank is going to determine the amount of your loan, not what something sold for back when Reagan was president, or how unrealistic the sellers are today. Those items you cited are truly not very relevant in the grand scheme of things.

Plus, just an FYI on commissions: most of these sites pick up their listings from the mls. If a property is listed for sale on the mls, there's a commission involved to both buying and selling agent. It might be helpful for you to just go ahead and assume it's 2.5%-2.5% to 3%-3%. However, what a seller has determined to pay agents for their services still isn't relevant to you in determining the price you should offer.

[sfvrealestate]

Peter, I have to get this plug in: Other good sites for active listings, if you'll stoop to visiting MLS sites, are Dilbeck.com and my site at www.JudyGraff.com.

[LA]

Redfin's my personal favorite, except for two things I can do on Realtor.com but not Redfin:

1) Filter for multi-family residential.

2) Filter as desired and then page directly between detailed listings. Redfin requires more navigation.

I love the detailed info and larger photos on Redfin. Days on market is a great stat, but easily manipulated by realtors (just re-list). The ability to sort results on the fly (price, address, days on Redfin, etc.) is excellent.

[It All Happens on the Margin]

SFVRE:

The data I mentioned are extremely relevant.

1) To determine the margin for short sale territory
2) To establish a sense of WTF pricing. Comps in areas like Burbank are tough because the lot sizes have tons of variation, there are scant HOAs so surrounding properties matter, and the homes are old so rehabs are relevant
3) Some houses simply flip more than others. There are some dynamics that may not be immediately apparent; if a home turns over every year, it prompts the question: why?
4) Many previous sales are NOT during the Reagan administration. You built up a straw man and tore it down on that one, and you know it -- a ton of distressed properties were bought in the past 5 years, and a target value can be discerned with the prior sales data.

I'll turn it around, why are you so interested in obfuscating the information?

Why not give MORE data to a potential buyer?

What are you trying to hide?

On your second point, the commission amount shows how much fluff is in the listing. I will absolutely use this info to determine a plan of attack - either through someone like yourself, Redfin, or via a referral to reduce the overhead involved with the listing.

[Ace]

Redfin seems decent but I have not used it much because I have MLS access. Has anyone actually ever used Redfin to buy a house? It seems interesting.

[Tim K.]

Ziprealty does have the Last Sale date and amount on the "Estimated Value" tab. It also has recent sales for homes in the area near that home.

I do wish Ziprealty had the Last Sale date and amount information on the search listing page - it would to quickly identify those who are greedy and unlikely to negotiate downwards on their asking price.

What is missing is someone should merge some of the PropertyShark features into the listing so that it will come up with an estimate of "homeowner equity" - i.e., what is the *lowest* the homeowner could sell for without being underwater. Kind of like a Kelly Blue Book "invoice cost" so you can decide just how much of a profit you want to offer to the seller.

[jaleh]

Anyone knows of a good site for multi-family buildings? Redfin does not have the option....thanks.

[It All Happens on the Margin]

Jaleh,

Try hotpads.com. It shows multi-family units with different icons.

HotPads.com also allows you to search for buy vs. rent on the same payment (given variable assumptions) - all via an interactive map with easy-to-identify icons. Only challenge is the rental listings are not as abundant as, say, craigslist.

HotPads isn't my first choice, but it has the innovative buy vs. rent feature which will be integrated with others -- just a matter of time.

[sfvrealestate]

IHOTM, you can get that info on any property on the MLS by simply asking a Realtor. You can reach the listing Realtor of a specific property through Realtor.com, or many of the sites you mentioned. You are going to need to talk to the Realtor who is listing the home you're interested in at some point anyway, if you're planning to make an offer. Who's obfuscating? And I still say: a house's particular worth is determined by a comparison of surrounding recent sales of similar properties.

[Inland Empire]

Redfin and Trulia.
I think Zillow will be sued at some point. Their "zestimates" sometimes compare apples to oranges (such as lumping custom builts in with tract homes in other areas), calling neighborhoods by the wrong names, giving "demographics" that are largely made up out of "opinion" and a few other things that are detrimental. They do things like show two side-by-side houses that have the same floorplans. The one with upgrades will show at a lesser price and the one that is untouched will show at a higher price with no rhyme reason. Not to be relied on I'd say.

[Rich]

I didn't find any site that was as straightforward and comprehensive as Realtor.com (which, as I understand it, is the National Association of Realtor's official site, making it the lite version of what your realtor uses) and Remax.com when you want to find all the realtor-listed homes in a given zip code. On all the other indie sites there were long lags in listings or price corrections and some homes that just didn't make it at all. You MUST search one of these "official" sites to know every realtor-listed home in the zip code area you want, then you can play around with the indie sites. I tended to use Zillow.com more than others because in spite of some of its technical problems it had more owner-created listings than Trulia and other similar sites. And it does have some sale history and tax information if you input the secret number on your screen like they ask you to.

[David Reynolds]

I love the Zillow website. It lets me know just how much value I lost on my house each month! :)

[Milla]

redfin, redfin, redfin for finding a property. and then propertyshark.com before buying the property.

[Nick]

Personally, I use redfin and zillow. I like zillow for its innovation and coverage area, but it doesn't have sorting tools like $/sqft, like redfin has. I find redfin much more useful for getting a general handle on price change per area (by watching $/sqft over time). Zillow had some cool features (like heat maps) which went away, and they cover many more areas. Neither is really perfect yet (neither tracks days on market ignoring re-listings, correlate sales to listing data to estimate difference between listing price and sales price for areas, factor out kickbacks from sales prices, separate land value from improvement value, etc.). It'll be interesting to see which is better in six months to a year, when they have more time to develop useful features.

[FreedomCM]

Redfin, Redfin, Redfin. The integration of past sale/propery tax, and the maps are great.

only drawback is no mutlifamily, so Ziprealty for that.

SFV realtor: One reason I don't want to call a salesperson is that I'm not planning on buying for a few more months. One other reason is that it is much easier for me to extract all the back info on a property online, rather than getting on the phone, or getting email updates for properties that don't quite fit my interest.

Would you be willing to feed a potential client a ton of info for six months before they buy? Or would you get tired of it?

[AreYouKiddingMe]

Zillow sucks. Always has, always will. When a seller or investor tells me he's checked value on Zillow, I know he's a moron just waiting to be screwed.

[tomhinca]

Why not "forclosureradar" at the top of the list?

[LAKLO]

Each site has its pros and cons but I find myself using ZipRealty the most. It almost always lists sq ft (it's unbelievable how many listings on other sites don't have that data), listing date, price reductions, sales history, and HOA fees on condos. They also have a new feature where you can flag properties as being a good deal or bad deal, too.

When I first signed up I got hounded via email by the Realtor assigned to me, but they've been quiet recently.

I wish you could sort properties by price per square foot on Zip.