Web 2.0 Tools - Zillow.com

I decided to check out Zillow.com. I am considering selling my condo and moving to a different neighborhood, so I wanted to see if Zillow made property searching any easier than looking at individual realty company sites or MLS listing sites. I really liked the fact that Zillow allowed you to limit your property search in various ways (i.e. bedrooms, price range, price, lot size, etc.). Plus, when you search for properties in a specific areas you can look at lists not only of what's for sale (which the site partly pulls from numerous realty websites), but also of what has recently sold in the area (among other things). It is very convenient to be able to get this information without having to go to a separate site or actually talk to an agent, etc. You can get a decent feel of what property values should be in a particular area. They also have real estate guides and discussions with supposed real estate professionals; I didn't enter a discussion, so I'm not sure if this part is legit or not. The site also includes information on current mortgage rates and has calculators to help you determine what you can afford to buy, etc. You can also get online quotes, but I'm not really comfortable with the idea of this, even though the site says the lenders won't call you (you call them).

Overall, I think this site can be really helpful, especially if you are in the early stages of looking for a home (and don't want to talk to an agent, etc., yet) or just want to get a general feel for the market in an area or get general information real estate.