What's the best place to find information on homes for sale?

To say there are a lot of real estate websites is like saying there are a lot of grains of sand on North Avenue Beach. How do you tell the difference, and how do you know you're not wasting your time or being misled with bad information?

Probably the first big consumer RE website to pop up was Zillow. Zillow got big by tantalizing everyone with a "Zestimate," an automated value of their home, during a time when everyone in the nation just could not get enough of seeing the value of their home. (Whether that "Zestimate" or any other automated value calculator is worth the pixels it occupies on your screen is a topic for a different post.) Those days passed, to put it lightly, and at some point Trulia became the next rising star. Based on inquiries from my web advertising, Trulia is probably tied for the most popular consumer RE website at this time. Realtor.com is the other top competitor.

So what's good about these websites, and why are they so popular? Simply put, they have attempted (and on some levels succeeded) in making themselves a "one-stop shop" for real estate needs. Not only can people view homes for sale and recently sold, but they can find information about real estate agents, school districts, crime data, mortgages, and other info that people buying or selling would like to see.

If I ask you to think of an example of a "one-stop shop" for any other product or service, likely one of the most popular answers would be Walmart. Walmart is the epitome of one-stop shop, and it holds a lot of value to meet many needs. If you're looking to shop for a wide variety of items in the same place, nothing beats it. Where else can you check out with a cart containing a vacuum, jeans, a garden hoe, an iPod, prescription ointment for that rash, a gun, a kitchen sink and a gallon of milk? Definitely nowhere but Walmart. If you're looking for a set of golf clubs, you could absolutely throw a set in the cart at Walmart while you're there checking off the rest of that list. But if you're really interested in getting a good set of golf clubs, clubs that will provide a good value and will be durable, accurate, and comfortable, are you really doing well for yourself by conducting your search at Walmart?

The one gap that consumer RE websites will never be able to close is the completeness, real-time pace, and most importantly the objectivity of housing data found in your local multiple listing service (MLS). Think about it: All of these consumer RE websites are free. They're paid for by a barrage of advertising that hits you like a Foot Locker salesman at the mall. Ads fill every side of the screen. Advertising dollars skew which search results you see and the order in which you see them. Advertising dollars put an agent's face next to a listing that may not be theirs, even though the impression is that it is, so you aren't really contacting the person you think you are. And properties are advertised while they're under contract, even though they're no longer available, because the agents whose advertising dollars fund the site want as many leads as possible.

As a matter of full disclosure, I pay for Enhanced Listing status for all my listings on Trulia. It may not be the most objective source of information, but if I intend to do the best job for my sellers I have to do everything possible to make their listings stand out in the fray.

In order to gain direct access to your local MLS (your agent can set up a client access account for you), not only must you hold an active real estate license, but you must be a member in good standing of the local real estate board (here, over $400/yr), and pay more fees ($340/yr right now) for MLS access. It's exclusive, it's expensive, but it's the best. Here's why:

- Completeness of information. All the info you see on consumer RE websites and then some. Photos, tax and assessment info, room sizes and floor coverings, detailed lists of equipment/amenities, school district maps and info, governing body maps, flood plain maps, down payment assistance information, sale history, "walkability" ratings, virtual tours, open house scheduling... You get the point. Your agent can also build a recurring search for you with a level of precision that far exceeds the search capabilities of the consumer RE websites. In your MLS search I can exclude short sales, require a master bath, cap taxes at a certain amount, or freehand an area on the map where you want to live. On consumer websites, you can search by bedrooms, bathrooms, and price, and that's about it.

- Real-time information. What defines the moment when the real estate community is notified of a new listing? When it goes live in the MLS. The moment the listing agent clicks the proverbial red button, the listing pops up on other agents' screens and in all client searches whose criteria the property meets. Instantly. But Realtor.com and Trulia.com won't display the new listing info and photos for another 24-72 hours. In today's market, if a hot listing hit the market 72 hours ago, you may already be too late. The same thing happens when a property goes under contract. My clients know the minute a listing is marked "under contract" because it either shows up as such the moment the listing agent clicks the button, or it disappears from their page (depending on their preference). The status won't change on the consumer websites for 24-72 hours, and once it does, you'll have to really look for the tag to determine it's no longer available.

- Objectivity of information. This may be the most important. Our local MLS rules state that nothing in the listing description or photos can indicate who the listing company or agent is. There are watchdogs on patrol to locate errors or falsifications, and agents can incur fines if such errors are not corrected. There is no advertising, no manipulation of the order in which search results are displayed, no different status of any kind conferred on any listings. Thus, you can compare listings apples-to-apples, and do it in peace without interruption from advertising messages.

Browse all you want if you're just curious or you really get a kick out of looking at pictures of houses, but when it comes time to start considering selling or buying a valuable asset, the first matter of shopping you need to take care of is finding a good real estate agent. They can set you up with a client account on MLS, which will save you a lot of time and should go a long way towards establishing your peace of mind.