Home buying

should i expect more listings to come on the market, i heard spring is when most listings come up but have seen many new in where we are looking? what website did you find most accurate to search for homes?

Re: Home buying

Yes, more homes will pop up around this time of year.

As for websites, any houses on the multiple listing service will be on MLSLI.Com. If you want to see additional listings beyond that such as for sale by owners, and private listings not on the MLS, you can try zillow, redfin and trulia.

Re: Home buying

Yes, there is usually an influx of new inventory on the market in early spring and early fall. However, a lot of sellers who put their houses on in the spring may start at a higher price point to "test the market," and you often have more buyers looking in the spring (again, some are new lookers and kind of just tire kickers). But more buyers = more competition, even though there is also more inventory.

A lot of the websites feed into each other. MLS has all of the listed homes, but feeds into other sites (such as Listingbook). So any of the major real estate sites should have pretty much the same listings - so where you go to look should really just depend on what site you like best and what you find most user friendly. For sale by owners are typically not on these sites, though. They are more often found on sites like fsbo.com, forsalebyowner.com, or local newspapers.

If you know what area you want to look, I would recommend finding a local real estate agent who can help you. It's much more efficient than looking online. A lot of the info you see online is not up-to-date (for example, a house will show as available until it's in full contract, but may have an accepted offer, be half in contract, etc.). Also, the info available on consumer real estate sites is far less complete than what agents have access to. And a local agent can give you the inside scoop on new listings coming on the market (sometimes even before they are publicly available), company exclusives, etc. Houses are going quickly if they are priced right... by the time you sift through what is online on your own, a house you love and are excited to see can be gone!

Plus, seeing homes in person can give you a much better idea than looking online, and you need an agent for that. I have had buyer clients rule out properties or overlook properties online, only to find that it's the house they want to buy when they see it in person.

I am obviously biased, but I think having an agent help you navigate through the inventory and process is invaluable.

Home buying

Many real estate agents consider late February to be the start of the spring season, so if you are seeing a lot of activity, that may be why. As far as best website, I personally like Listingbook. I think it tends to pull more of the private listings and status updates sooner.

But what Christine says is 100% right. If you have been looking for any time, I'm sure you've noticed that there is just not much on the market right now. Homes that show well and are priced fairly are getting offers within the first few days.

Again, I'm as biased as Christine, but I think an agent is a great tool to have as well. With many agents on the buyer side, there's no fee to you, the buyer to engage their services, so you have nothing to lose.