How to Find Homes for Sale Near You

There are multiple ways to find homes for sale near you by hopping online and using the internet. Many sites have an extensive list of homes for sale that include details such as the number of bedrooms/bathrooms, sq footage, nearby schools and more. Typically, you can look in a specific neighborhood or city, eliminating the areas you are not interested in finding homes. You may even be able to sort or narrow your search based on property type such as a single family home, condo, or townhome for sale. Unfortunately, some details or records on these sites may not be entirely accurate or updated, however they serve as a great starting point for your real estate journey. These days, some of these sites even have the ability to sell or help you buy a property through their brokerage services.

In addition to websites that mostly focus on presenting listings, many major brokerage websites also feature the homes currently for sale by the agents that are a part of that brokerage. As some agents prefer not to use the aforementioned listing websites, there may be additional homes for sale on a brokerage website that you have not previously seen. Additionally, the functionality of the site may be a bit different and include other details that aren’t on the first group of sites.

The best, and most effective way to find homes for sale near you is to begin working with a real estate agent. A top agent in your area is connected to the best local resources for finding homes for sale including your local MLS (or multiple listing service, a tool that only real estate agents can access). The MLS connects an agent to all available homes for sale in the area and includes all the details you want to know about a property. Plus, after developing a connection with your real estate agent they can prioritize sharing the homes for sale that best meet your needs, saving your time and energy from viewing homes that are a bad fit. Additionally, agents often know about homes that will be available before they’re officially listed for sale (known as a pocket listing) through their own business or connections with other agents, granting you exclusive access to certain properties.

Visiting open houses in the neighborhoods, or expanding to the entire city in your area, is a great way to find homes for sale near you. This is a great way to take the next step from browsing and actually view homes for sale to determine your likes, dislikes, and identify what options exist in different properties. You’re most likely to find open houses hosted on the weekend, and they tend to be available earlier in the listing’s lifecycle. While you can definitely find open houses by driving around a given neighborhood (most agents will market them heavily with signs) you can also find them by checking message boards, city resource pages, and using social media. You can even take this a step further and follow an agent you like on social media to discover open houses and new listings as soon as they’re announced.

Another great way to find homes for sale near you is by plugging into your local community and asking around about homes for sale or that will soon be listed on the market. Word of mouth is still an incredibly effective way to learn about happenings in some neighborhoods, especially if the residents are especially active online. Connecting with neighbors, or through social networks such as schools, gyms, or churches, are great way to discover what’s happening in the residential real estate market.

Similar to some websites, you can find brief listings of homes for sale in local newspapers and magazines. Oftentimes these are submitted by a real estate agent to market a listing, so they’ll include short descriptions including 1-2 photos of the property, square footage, and the number of beds/bathrooms. These brief listings are meant to act as a launching point to initiate contact and learn more about the property, so either you or your agent can reach out using the included contact info on the listing.