If you’ve ever moved home, then you’re no doubt aware of just how difficult it can be to get yourself situated, not to mention all the stresses of simply finding a new place to rent or buy.
Luckily, there are a huge host of different sites available online that can help you to find a new home that’s right for you. Here are five of the best for you to give a shot.
1. Zillow
First up on this list, we have Zillow. Zillow is an online marketplace where you can buy, rent, and sell houses. If you’re on the lookout for a new home, then Zillow is a great service which can help you to do just that.
Getting started with Zillow is easy. All you have to do is type in the area that you want to begin looking for a new home in. You can input any address, neighborhood, ZIP code, or more.
From here, there are a huge number of ways to focus in on what you might want. There are various filters that you can apply to your search such as the price point, the number of beds or baths, the type of home, and more.
There’s even a handy map of schools in the area if you’ve got little ones you need to think about, which can be super useful if you’re moving into a new area. All of these features can be used if you’re looking to rent or buy, with an easy toggle swapping between the two.
When you do find a house that you’re interested in, there are a whole host of options available within the Zillow site. You can request an in-person tour, or view a 3D tour for many houses, as well as get facts, travel times, and more all available within the site’s interface.
2. Apartments.com
If you’re looking for a new home, but aren’t yet ready to buy, then Apartments.com is a great resource you can use to search for that new home of your dreams. As you might guess from the name, Apartments.com is a site focused on helping you find an apartment to live in anywhere in America.
The interface itself is clean and easy to use. All you need to do is enter the location that you’re looking for an apartment, and Apartments.com will take you right there, much like many of the best apartment finder websites and apartment search sites.
Apartments.com starts by showing you an enormous number of different options, but luckily, there's a range of different filters you can apply to narrow down your search. From home types to number of beds, to price, and even move-in date, Apartments.com will help you find what you’re looking for.
There’s a ton of information on the apartments themselves once you find one you like as well. All you need to do is click in, and you’ll see all the facilities, nearby points of interest, and much more displayed neatly for you to peruse.
The easiest part about Apartments.com is how you can set up your profile and then apply to multiple places quickly and easily. Once your info is stored, it’s only a couple of clicks to start applying.
3. Trulia
Next up, we have Trulia. Trulia is an online real estate service that allows you to easily buy and rent houses all through one easy, online service.
Trulia’s interface is easy to use, with all of the features that you might expect from an online service such as this. All you have to do is input your address, and you’ll be shown a map of the area you’re looking into, with the various properties for sale or rent highlighted for you to look at.
There are a bunch of different filters to show you exactly what you’re looking for, as well as some helpful categories such as suburbs in an area, houses priced below the typical price per square foot, or even starter homes if you’re buying for the first time.
The actual interface, once you’re looking at a property, is really solid as well. Photos are displayed at the forefront and easy to access, and there’s plenty of extra information such as features, a neighborhood overview, and even a section that other Trulia locals can use to vote on what the area is like.
4. HomeFinder
If you’re looking not to rent, but to buy, then HomeFinder is a great site online that you can use to try and find a good deal.
HomeFinder opens out by default into a list of all properties in the area that you choose to search for. There’s the option to display a map as well, though this isn’t the most useful feature as it can sometimes be a little buggy to use.
The filters available are good, however, with a lot of different ways to narrow down your search, and the ability to sort your results by price or date listed helps a lot as well.
HomeFinder is great in that it’s another tool that you can use to try and find a house missed by other sites. There are a lot of properties listed here, from small apartments up to huge estates, so anything you might be looking for you can probably find.
5. realtor.com
Finally, we have realtor.com. If you’re looking to buy, rent, sell, or set up a mortgage, then realtor.com probably has the tools that you’re looking for to do just that.
When you first search for the area that you’re looking for, realtor.com defaults to a list view. There are plenty of pictures here to give you a feel for the properties being listed, and the option to swap over to a map view if you care more about the location than the home itself.
There are tons of useful filters here, such as the listing status and commute times, as well as many of the standard ones such as price, property type, number of beds, and more. If these don't do it for you, you can always search for house and apartments to buy or rent using Hotpads.
The information available about each property is great as well, with tons of extra information such as environmental risk and neighborhood home value, among the more standard schools, property history, and neighborhood information.
Make Finding a New Home Easy
As you can see, there are a whole host of different sites available to make looking for a new home easy. They’re easy to use and quick to get started with, so there’s little reason not to give each one a shot. After all, you might just find the perfect home for you.