When looking to buy a home, you can find some of the best tools for the search in the palm of your hand, now that the number of real estate apps for smartphones has exploded.
One third of all U.S. adults own smartphones — such as the iPhone and Android software-based phones — and the real estate apps they can access provide the take-along convenience that a home computer simply cannot.
(Scott Eells/BLOOMBERG) - Zillow’s app allows you to figure out what your mortgage payment would be with real-time updates of average 30-year fixed interest rates.
Some apps are free. Others are not. But you can download them from Apple’s iTunes Store, the Android Market and BlackBerry’s App World store.
Here are some of the free ones that might come in handy and feedback from people who have used theses apps or similar ones:
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
Redfin (for iPhone, Android)
Features: Redfin updates its listings by the minute with full picture galleries, home details and agent contact information. Like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com and other listing sites, it uses global-positioning systems to pinpoint a user’s location and tailor that person’s home search accordingly. Want to find open houses within a three-mile radius of where you’re standing or a list of nearby homes that have been recently reduced in price, built after 1950 and priced below recently sold homes? This app and others like it can process the details and serve up the listings. The GPS function also enables users to see listings pop up as they drive or walk through an area and the timing of related open houses. Results show comparable prices for nearby homes and distinguishes if a home is listed by an agent, a bank or an owner.
The app is synchronized with data saved by users accessing the site on other devices. It’s only available in major metropolitan areas, including the Washington region.
The buzz: Jennifer Taxson of Haymarket said she particularly liked Redfin’s e-mail alert function when she was searching for a home late last year. “It was easy to scan on my iPhone,” Taxson said. “It had good photos, and it clearly listed the address and neighborhood.” Richard Bridges, an ERA real estate agent in Woodbridge, said he especially likes Redfin’s search features. “You don’t have to go through a whole bunch of clicks to get to the property you want,” Bridges said.
Trulia (for iPhone, Android)
Features: This home listing site for buyers and renters also offers insights into neighborhoods. When searching by location, users can find reviews by locals of nearby restaurants and area schools. To gauge a neighborhood’s purchase activity, Trulia’s heat maps shows the concentration of sales in a community. Its Android app highlights in red the areas with the highest crime rates, too. The maps also show nearby pools, libraries, public transportation and walking trails. The Washington Post partners with Trulia for content both online and in print.
The buzz: Angie Copp, who lives in
Vancouver with her family, used Trulia when looking for a home in the Washington area. She wanted a place that was close to many amenities. “I didn’t want to be driving 20 minutes to get a container of milk from the grocery store,” Copp said. When she saw a home of interest, she used the Trulia map to search for nearby stores and schools. Sometimes, nothing popped up. “I thought, ‘Hmmm, maybe that’s not right,’ ” she said. Other times, she immediately found what she was looking for. “That really helped me eliminate some homes for sure,” she said. As for the listings themselves, she also used Trulia while her husband, Tim, used Zillow. They noticed that some listings showed up on one app but not the other and vice versa. When they hired an agent, they found that some listings showed up earlier on the local multiple listing service than they did on either app. Still, the apps were a huge help, Tim Copp said. “I
was on vacation, on business trips, on
the bus looking at different houses as they hit the market and narrowing down my search to figure out where I wanted to be,” he said.
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