favorite house hunting websites?

[wmass]

find a home massachusetts real estate from william raveis real estate, one of the leading realtors in massachusetts, featuring homes for sale in massachusetts: boston, rockport, westport massachusetts real estate

[Ma8910]

I feel Redfin is the best. Very user friendly. For most properties it shows you an outline of the lot as well. You only have to join to see days on market, and use the save favorites I think. I joined a few years ago and never got any spam.

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by KellyCrash

Register with a realtor who has a MLS Property Finder search set up. You really get a ton of information. I receive a daily email that tells me of the new listings, price changes, back on market activity for the search area I have specified. We bought our house in Sept. and I still keep an eye on the market even now. I love it. I do not get any phone calls or spam from this.

I second this. The listings from my realtor were my favorite because they were most up-to-date. If I was interested in the property, I would then go to Redfin.

I love Redfin for deeper research because:
1. When applicable, it provides an outline of the property so you can see the size and shape of the lot
2. They provide the sales history of the house--you can see how much it last sold for, plus how many times it has been listed and the price changed
3. I like that the tax info. and assessed price is listed
4. I like that they have all of the neighboring sold comps
5. I like that the default search tool is a map since location is key to most people

I actually miss the daily email from my realtor (we bought in June and she took us off her list in December), but I still peruse Redfin from time to time.

[capecodcathy]

As a former Realtor, I'll toss my thoughts in here, as well.
That national sites (Realtordotcom, Zillow, Trulia, etc.) provide outdated information, as state previously, but each site is also redundant. You may see the same listing four and five times (same pics, same narrative, etc.) because they all accept "feeds" from so many sources. I also found, in many cases, the information to be blatantly incorrect. Zillow was notorious for comparing say, a beautiful oceanfront home with 4 bedrooms to a 4BR teardown six blocks from the ocean.
Also, you should know that mostly ALL websites have the same listings. Some are just easier to use than others. I maintained both my own personal website that I had complete control over, and one for my brokerage where I was told what they wanted. Mine received more traffic because it was less cluttered. Most people just want to search properties.
Since you know the area you are looking in, first, find a few brokerages that work locally. That COULD be a national brokerage with a significant local presence. Most brokerages, if not independent, are still local franchises and locally owned.
Second, check out their website...is it easy to navigate? Are you inundated with a lot of useless information or do you find it helpful? Do they give you addresses for the properties? Many don't want to do that for fear that you will drive by and call the number on the sign. Remember, they're in business, too. But many WILL give you the address of the property.
Yes, some WILL ask you to register. After registering, you MAY get a phone call. Feel free to tell the Agent that you do NOT want to be part of their "drip email", you are only in the early stages of looking. They should immediately take you out of that loop. They're trying to make a living, too, and aren't going to waste their time on "tire kickers". They WILL however, want you on their site for the opportunity to serve you in the future. In any event, your first email will give you an "opt-out" which is usually a "click here" and your done. You're still registered. DO opt IN for the daily emails with new listings, price changes, etc.
Do NOT register on every site you find. What a waste of your time and theirs. I recall one person registered on every website in our geographic area. Yes, Realtor's DO speak to each other and have good working relationships. We would always ask what "George" was doing on each site that week. Became quite the joke. We could never figure out how he had so much time to go through EVERY email EVERY day. But I digress........
Find a site you feel comfortable with that gives you the information you need, register, opt-in or out of what you need and/or don't want. Suffer through the first phone call with that pesky Realtor and get your information. Who knows, you may actually LIKE that Realtor enough to use him/her when you're finally ready to stop kicking those tires.
Best of luck!!!