RE data?

Question

Hi!

Can anyone recommend good sources for real estate data? Right now I've been using Zillow, Trulia and Redfin, as well as Neighborhood Scout and Rentometer. Any other sites/etc you'd recommend? I'd like to get a better sense of what are the emerging RE markets (Charlotte? Minneapolis? Tulsa?), among other things. The more detailed and comprehensive the data, the better.

Thanks,

Dominic

Marc Jolicoeur · Answer

I like Zilpy.com.  Like rentometer, it will estimate a good rent amount, plus it pulls in a lot of information just like neighborhood scout and city-data.  I find it to be a great site to use BEFORE I make an offer on a property to confirm the rental amounts, school districts, and neighborhood trends.  It's worth $4.95 to me.

FindCompsNow.com is another one that is promising.   I think it just uses a Zillow Zestimate rathar than calculating a new comp price with the data it has access to.  But it really helps to get some ideas of what cash buyers are paying in the area.

I also use the Zillow Zestimate and Zillow Rent Zestimates. The rent estimates are pretty good, and I feel like the Zestimates have improved over the last couple of years.

I do not think Minneapolis is emerging. I think it emerged 3-5 years ago. Its a strong rental market and many properties will cash flow, but the cap rate yield for SFH is barely 6%-7% unless you go in D areas where you inherit more headaches and will have trouble hiring good prop. managers at a distance.  Appreciation however should continue at a moderate pace for years to come in most areas since the employment situation is very strong.

Wayne Prentiss · Answer

Dominic, it is a bit quirky, but I've had great luck with:

http://www.city-data.com/

- lots of demographic data

- lots of data that would matter to your clients (either renters or owner-occupants)

Tim Livian · Answer

Probably easier to do with a user-friendly web scraper than an Excel macro, unless you're good at Excel macros :)

Ryan Donohue · Answer

Has anyone used an Excel macro to pull data from a tax assessors website based on certain search criteria? Possibly for free or a minimal fee?

Jay Lohn · Answer

@Dominic L.

http://www.padmapper.com/ is a good resource as it links to current rental ads on Craig's list, apartment finder, etc.

Dominic L. · Answer

... and Marc -- thanks, Marc!

Dominic L. · Answer

Many thanks, Wayne and Jason!

Dominic

Jason Douthitt · Answer

I live in Tulsa and find myself using realtor.com. It's filtering capabilities allow slightly more detail when determining comparable values of SFRs.

RE data?

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