Sarah's Online Reference Warehouse: Real Estate

Sarah's Online Reference Warehouse is a new series on LibrarianInBlack.net.  For a decade now I have been keeping bookmark files (yes, old school, I know) of all of the websites I find helpful in a number of different reference categories.  I weed them regularly, add to them any time I find a new site, and keep them insanely and meticulously organized (which is why their transfer to del.icio.us or a similar site hasn't worked well in the past).  I have taught many classes for California's Infopeople library staff training program, probably teaching online reference to several hundred people.  But hey, why not share that information even further?  I thought I would start the Sarah's Online Reference Warehouse series as a way for me to share the best of the best of the web (according only to me, of course).  I hope some of you find it helpful, and that you find a few new sites to get your online reference happy-monkeys dancing again.  And that if you know of sites in this category that you, as library staff, find useful - share that with us (no solicitations please-they will only be deleted).

Let us begin.

 

Real Estate

There are a lot of great real estate sites out there to help people trying to sell their homes, buy homes, or rent.  Here are a few of the Real Estate sites that jump out to me:

• ApartmentFinder.com: The ultimate place to find a place to rent (I've used it twice successfully).  Search based on numerous criteria, including locations in proximity to colleges or military bases.
• DataQuick: A site listing sale numbers, prices, and more for various areas.  Custom reports available.
• For Sale By Owner: Just what it sounds like - listings of homes being sold independently.
• JustListed.com: A relatively new entry to the real estate fray, but one more place to look for listings.
• MLS Listings: Comprehensive listings by brokers and real estate agents.  This will not cover for-sale-by-owner properties (see above), but it does cover a lot.
• Real Estate.com: Search for homes for sale in your area, get information on lending, home valuation tools and calculators.
• Realtor.com: The mother of real estate listing sites: get listings on properties to buy or rent, get how-to guides on remodeling or designing, find advice and resources about moving (including quotes from vendors).
• Rentometer: Rental rate comparisons by area.
• Trulia: An easy to use site that lets you search for homes, see price trends by state or county, participate in discussions, and read city-based real estate guides.
• Yahoo! Real Estate: A multi-function site with home and apartment listings, information on local schools,  home loan data, and information on your area's home values.
• Zillow: Find homes for sale, post homes, track your home's value based on local trends, view maps of your home's area to view recent sales and postings, participate in discussions, and a lot more.
• ZIP Realty: Home listings, plain and simple, with some added calculators and resources.