Your real estate agent is going to be the best source of information when it comes to real estate in your area. In addition to your realtor, a great resource for property information is realtor.com. I am going to tell you 5 features I love about Realtor.com so you can get the most out of their website. Researching a property can take some time, which is why I wanted to point out the best information Realtor.com has to offer!
Property Overview
Realtor.com starts with the basic information, such as bedrooms, bathrooms, property sq ft, and lot size. Then it goes further by reporting how expensive the house is compared to nearby properties, how much it has increased or decreased in value since it was last sold, and what the rental estimate is. It also gives you a graph with the property’s value over the last ten years.
Property and Tax History
Every listing tells a story, and the property history is an important part of that. Realtor.com lists recent times when the property sold, as well as the prices it was asking when it was on the market. You can see photos from the past listings, to help you compare to the current listing. It also lists the property taxes for the last 10 years+ so you can get a good idea of what to expect when paying the property taxes.
Neighborhood Info
When looking at a listing, Realtor.com will give you the neighborhood median list price, median sales price, median days on market, and the average price per sq ft. It shows similar homes for sale in the neighborhood along with some that have recently sold. The schools and school ratings for the property are also on there.
Commute Time
Right next to the address towards the top of Realtor.com is a link to the Commute Time. You can search by car, walking, bike, or bus. Plus, you can even search with traffic taken into account! Travel times are very important to most people, so this is a great piece of information.
The Map
This is by far my favorite feature on Realtor.com. You can click on the small map square by the address or scroll down for the map.
Schools: You can search for schools in the area by elementary, middle, high, private, or district. You can also search by public school rating.
Crime: It will show the crime ratings for each area from low to high.
Noise: It will give you ratings from low to high for overall noise, traffic noise, airport noise, and local noise.
Lifestyle: People always want to know what places are close to a property, and this feature helps with that. It will tell you where grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, insurance, gas stations, and pharmacies are located in reference to the property.
Transit: This shows traffic, public transit, and bike lanes by the property.
