functions as a search engine both for homes and real estate agents. What does it really take to buy a house in Southern California? A Long Beach couple share their story, from strategic job moves to Realtor regrets. To save time, she signed up for Zillow email alerts for Long Beach houses that hit the market within certain parameters: single-family homes listed for less than $600,000.įor Subscribers She grew up in a rental down the street from her dream home. “Zillow was our go-to,” said Kaitlynne Sanfilippo, who bought a house in Long Beach in June 2020 after months of searching. But the concept helped make it the most popular real estate search engine by far. Of course, the number is only as good as the data behind it, so it’s far from foolproof. The real estate giant pioneered the concept of an instant home value estimate with the Zestimate, which pairs public data with user-provided information to put a price tag on any property. There’s a reason Zillow is the first name that pops into your head when you’re thinking about searching for a home. There’s a bevy of websites and apps to choose from, but dozens of interviews with home buyers revealed that most people in Southern California prefer three: Zillow, and Redfin, all of which include every property posted on the Multiple Listing Service. If you recently became a first time home buyer - or are planning to buy a home for the first time - The Times would like to hear from you. (The right lens can make a closet look like a bedroom.)īusiness Are you a first-time home buyer in Southern California? We want to hear from you It’s not quite the same as stepping through the door yourself, but at least it gives a better understanding of the layout - and combats that camera trick photographers use to make a room seem bigger than it actually is. Real estate websites have become more informative and easier to use over the years, and advancements in 3-D technology enable you to virtually tour many listings. Wherever you are in your home-buying journey, it makes sense to start online, where you can browse hundreds of homes in the same time it would take to tour a single open house. At this point, you’ll want to find the fastest, most efficient way to narrow your search. But to the grizzled veteran who loved and lost, the one who has been outbid countless times, scrolling through listings becomes work. Scrolling through homes is such a good time that it’s become a hobby for people not even interested in buying a place the obsession has been mocked on SNL and birthed one of the best real estate accounts on Instagram, “Zillow Gone Wild.”įor the casual shopper, these sites are a fun jaunt into the market, a voyeuristic way to spend an afternoon. You’re finally far enough into the home-buying process where you can start having some fun.
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