Addicted to Redfin

A good friend of mine, Jeanine, recently admitted she watches Redfin like a hawk. This was exciting – I thought it was just me! New property listings appear every day and we are there to see it first.

Redfin’s tagline is “Find, Buy, & Sell Homes Online.” It’s a real estate agency, but I use their site to find potential properties. It’s the best site I’ve found for this and so much faster than my old process.

My old way to search properties:

• I would search for new Seattle listings in my price range on Realtor.com.

• Then find the exact address, more pictures and info on the real estate agency’s site.

• If a listing was still interesting, I would find sales history, tax info and neighborhood info on the King County Parcel Viewer.

My new way:

• I check Redfin. And once in a great while, I’ll check the King County Parcel Viewer for minor neighborhood info. How cool.

It’s easy to keep up with new listings, and doesn’t take very much time – not nearly what it used to.

Even if I’m not actively looking for property to buy, I check it occasionally to keep tabs on the local market. Sure, Redfin doesn’t tell you all the complications transactions may be having, but you get to know a market fairly well by watching prices, duration on the market, sales history, and visiting a few open houses to get a feel for price ranges and neighborhoods. When you’re ready to buy, you’ll have a head start on knowing where and what you want to buy.