Best Real Estate Apps & Websites For Homebuyers
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or on the move again, house hunting is no easy task. A lot of time, effort and energy goes into finding the perfect house. In a busy market where houses are selling quickly, and usually for top bid, it is imperative to be on the top of your house hunting game.
To help make your home search easier, we’re sharing some of the best real estate apps on the market. These apps, tools and websites can help you find properties in your price range, estimating payments and more!
Photo credit: Redfin.com.
Redfin is one of the real estate industry’s best-kept secrets—and most reliable apps. Because it’s powered by the MLS (and updated every 15-30 minutes) you can see every new home minutes after it’s listed. With this powerful guide in your hand, you can search nearby homes, refine your search based on location, plan open house visits, schedule tours and more! You can even “favorite” the houses you like the most to receive alerts whenever there is a change to that particular listing.
Photo credit: Homesnap.com.
With Homesnap, you can explore more than 90 million homes on the market and receive access to the same data as real estate agents. Simply take a picture of a home using your smartphone’s camera and get instant access to property information, including how much the home is worth, when it last sold, interior photos, appreciation potential and more. How cool is that?
Photo credit: Cre8tiveapps.com.
It’s easy to see why this app made it into the top three must-have apps on REALTOR Tara Nicole Nelson’s Trulia blog two consecutive years in a row. With so many choices and homes available on the market, House Hunter helps you organize your thoughts into one convenient place. Download this trusty sidekick before your next tour to store notes and photos so you never forget which features you love and which ones you can live without.
Head over to our mobile-friendly website and browse our database of mortgage calculators and determine how much house you can afford, estimate what your monthly mortgage payment will be, weigh the costs of renting versus buying and decide on the best loan option for you.
Photo credit: Neighborhoodscout.com.
Buying a home is a big decision. Not only do you want a mortgage payment you can live with, you want to find a community you feel comfortable living in. It’s important to evaluate the various communities you’re looking to move to. Some things to consider include school districts, crime rates, property taxes, commute time, etc. Neighborhood Scout can help you do just that. You’ll have access to helpful data, including median home value, school ratings, and demographic information and more.
Photo credit: Dwellr.com.
Dwellr is another great app that can help you learn more about the neighborhoods you’re looking to buy in. The data on Dwellr is backed by the Census Bureau. You can get detailed information about everything ranging from the median age of residents, median home values, educational information and more.
Photo credit: GreatSchools.org.
Have a family? Thinking about starting one soon? Great Schools is another great resource to use during your home search. It will tell you exactly what school a property is zoned for and how that school stacks up compared to others in the state.
Happy house hunting! We wish you the best of luck on your home search. If you use these tips, you’ll be house hunting like a pro in no time. And, don’t forget to get pre-approved before you start searching for homes. Not only will you be able to determine how much you’re eligible to borrow, you’ll earn favor with agents and sellers too.
Do you have a favorite house hunting app? Share it with us in the comments below.
