There are a lot of options for searching for Tacoma Real Estate- whether it be condos or houses. When I bought my first house back in 2004, I was absolutely without loyalty when it came to websites. I was hungry for info and deals and I almost never used my agents comany’s website. I had several favorites that I used. I would go from Zillow, to John L Scott, to Coldwell Banker, to Red Fin- then I would email those listings to my agent and off we’d go! Whenever those companies would try to capture my info, I would just make something up.
I find that my clients these days operate much the same way. As a Realtor, I pay for access to the MLS and this means that my information is more up to date than that of public search engines- but the information on public websites is still VERY GOOD. My company, Windermere, has a great search tool, but I also recognize that there are a lot of other great options out there.
I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t care where my clients search for homes online, as long as they come home to me!
Here are some sites I recommend for daydreaming and looking at house info at work:
Zillow.com – This is a fantastic site for keeping an eye on what houses in the neighborhood are selling for. Unfortunately, a lot of the information comes from public records so the square footage and bedrooms and stuff can be off- but it’s still fantastic for getting a feel for what things are selling for.
Trulia.com – My very favorite consumer search website. There is no logging in, and you can even search for open houses. I recommend unchecking “Auction” and “Notice of Default” as these homes are not listed for sale. Make sure “Bank Owned” is checked though- there are some great bank owned homes in Tacoma.
Pierce County Assessor Treasurer Parcel Search – Ok, I admit it. When I first learned about this site I started typing in the address of everyone I’d ever met, from my parents to my boss to find out how much they paid for their houses. Was I a voyeur or merely destined to become a Realtor? Who knows. The bottom line is the assessor treasurer search is a great way to dig up public information on a property you might be interesting in. Highly recommend.
Let me know what you think of these, or if there are any awesome public websites for searching for Tacoma Real Estate that I’ve missed!
