I Want to Sell My House On the Internet - 17 Helpful Websites

I plan to sell my house this year, and I know the Internet is a great way to reach a large number of buyers. Which Internet sites should I use to sell my home?

This is a common question among home sellers, especially in slower markets like those we are now seeing across the United States. It's true, the Internet can help you sell your house quickly by presenting it to a vast audience of potential buyers. But where you go online, and which websites you end up using, will depend on several things. For example:

If you plan to sell your house by yourself, then you'll want to research the various FSBO websites that are online today. These sites offer a variety of Internet tools to help you market your home. If you plan to sell through a real estate agent, then you'll want to learn about the websites used by agents.

In this article, I'll try cover all of the angles. To do this, I've made a list of websites that can help you through every aspect of the home selling process. So if you're one of the many people wondering: How can I sell my house on the Internet ... you'll want to save this page for future reference!

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General Advice for Home Sellers

Let's start with a list of websites that offer general tips and advice for sellers. Some of the sites listed in this section offer additional Internet tools to help you sell your house, but they all fall into "general advice" category as well.

• http://www.hud.gov/selling/index.cfm
• http://www.homebuyinginstitute.com/selling
• http://www.realestateabc.com/homeselling
• http://www.century21.com/sellingadvice
  

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Websites to Help You Price the Home

Pricing a home effectively is the key to success when selling. If you get this step wrong, all of the marketing in the world won't help you. You must price it right in order to attract buyers and move toward a sale. Here are some Internet destinations that can help you determine your home's value.

• http://www.homegain.com/homevalues
  
• http://www.zillow.com
• http://www.eppraisal.com
  
• http://www.domania.com
• http://realestate.yahoo.com/Homevalues
• http://www.housevalues.com (one of my least favorites)
• Our review of home value websites

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Websites for FSBO Sellers

"I want to sell my house on the Internet but I don't want to go through a real estate agent." This is a common issue among home sellers today. Fortunately, there are many websites you can use to make it happen. Here are a few sites worth researching.

• http://www.forsalebyowner.com
• http://www.owners.com
• http://www.fsbo.com
• Tips on selling your own home
  

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Finding a Real Estate Agent Online

If you plan to use an agent when you sell your house, you'll be glad to know you can find one online. There are many websites to help you locate a professional agent in your area. Here's a short list of some of the best Internet sites for this purpose.

• http://www.realtor.com/findreal/
• http://realestate.yahoo.com/Realtors
• http://www.century21.com
• http://www.remax.com/residential/find_an_agent/
• Tips on finding a real estate agent
  

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They key to selling a home quickly is to (A) price it realistically and (B) promote it to the largest possible audience. The websites listed above will help you do these things, and if you need additional help you can always hire a real estate agent.

Preparing your home for the market is also an important step. Before you let buyers tour the house, you should make sure the property looks its best. This is where home staging comes into the picture. It's a tough economy for sellers, so you must do everything you can to attract offers.

Related article:
Can I sell my house by myself in this economy?

Can I Sell My House Myself in This Economy?

Reader Question: I will be selling my house this spring, and I'm wondering whether or not I need to hire a real estate agent. Can I sell my house by myself in this type of economy?

I make it a policy never to tell people whether or not they need an agent. I'm not trying to be evasive, but it really is a question you must answer for yourself. So instead of saying whether you can your house by yourself in this economy, let me focus on the tasks that need to be completed. Then you can decide if you need help.

In many parts of the country, it's hard to sell a home right now. There are two primary reasons for this (and each of them opens a separate can of worms).

The first reason has to do with a reduction in the buyer pool. There are fewer home buyers today than a couple of years ago. People are losing their jobs in record numbers right now, so fewer people are in a position to buy a home. We are firmly rooted in an economic recession, and whenever that happens, major purchases are the first thing to drop off.

The second reason it's hard to sell a home right now is the surplus factor. There's a huge inventory of homes in most cities across the U.S., largely a result of the foreclosure crisis that swept across our country.

So when you ask the question, "Can I sell my house myself in this economy?", you must take these things into account. These two factors combined have created the classic buyer's market in most cities. There are plenty of homes for sale, but fewer buyers to go around. So it's a lot harder to sell a house in this kind of economy.

When selling a home under these conditions, you need to do the following:

• Ensure that you have priced the home competitively, based on current market conditions.
• Stage the home effectively in order to show off the good features and eliminate the bad.
• Market the home to the widest possible audience, to lessen the effects of a buyer shortage.

This is where it might pay to have the professional help of a real estate agent. If you're confident in your ability to handle these important tasks by yourself, then you might be able to succeed with a for-sale-by-owner / FSBO strategy. If you're not up for the task, however, you should hire an agent with a track record of selling homes in this tough market. Proper research is also critical. You need to know what homes are selling for in your area, how long they are staying on the market, etc.

You also need to find out what your home is worth in the current economy. I know I've said this already, but it needs to be repeated. Home values have dropped across the United States, and in some places they've dropped considerably. So the price you paid for your home two, five or ten years ago is no longer relevant. Sorry. I know that's a hard pill to swallow, but you have to understand the situation.

An agent can help you determine the current value. If you're trying to sell the house yourself, I recommend paying for a home appraisal before you set the asking price. You can use one of the home value websites to get a general idea, but nothing takes the place of a professional appraisal. The home value sites only look at data from recent sales in your area -- they do not take into account other important factors such as the upgrades you've made, current condition of the home, etc. That's why you should start with an appraisal.

Can I sell my house by myself in this market? It's a common question among homeowners who plan to sell, but it requires some careful thought. It's a question that only you can answer, but I hope this article makes the decision easier for you. Good luck.

P.S. -- If you want to learn more about this topic, check out our comprehensive guide to selling your own home. It covers every aspect of this process in great detail. Definitely worth a read!

Home Value Estimates Online - 5 Helpful Websites

The Internet has made the home selling process a lot easier. Among other things, you can go online to get a free estimate of your home's value. Typically, these estimates are based on recent sales data in your area -- the same data a real estate agent would use to price your home for you.

A few years ago, there were only one or two websites that offered home value estimates online, but this niche industry has grown a lot since then. Today, there are many websites that provide free estimates to homeowners. In this lesson, I'll explain how these websites work, and I'll also give you list of home value websites worth considering.

What Do Home Value Websites Do?

In essence, these websites all perform the same basic function. Sure, they'll offer different tools and features, and they may process their data in different ways. But the core process is usually the same. These websites will give you an estimate of your home's value based on recent sales data in your area. The data they use is public information. Some of these websites claim to have a "proprietary formula" that gives you a more accurate estimate. But the primary source of the home value always comes from recent sales data.

Be Prepared for Agent Phone Calls

Most of these websites will distribute your personal information to local real estate agents who pay for such "leads." So when you use these sites to get an estimate of your home's value, you can probably expect some phone calls within a day or two: "Hi. My name is Sally, and I'm a real estate agent here in town. Are you thinking of selling your home soon? I can help." That sort of thing.

If you actually are planning to sell your home in the near future, then this might be a welcomed phone call. Or it might be an intrusion. I just want you to be aware of how the process works, and what you can expect afterward. Some of the home value websites -- the good ones -- will give you the chance to "opt out" from receiving such calls. This is the mark of a truly professional service that respects the privacy of consumers. But not all of the estimate websites give you this option. Some will farm out your contact information whether you like it or not. Consider yourself advised.

Popular Websites for Estimates

Here are some websites I recommend visiting, for starters. Some of these sites offer a variety of services for consumers, but all of them focus on the concept of providing home value estimates online -- usually free of charge. These websites are in alphabetical order. They are not ranked by popularity or quality.

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Eppraisal.com

This name of this website is a contraction of the phrase "electronic appraisal," which tells you what it's all about. I experimented with it while writing this article. From the home page, I entered my street address along with my city and state. I was then presented with a street map with icons representing homes for sale in my area, but no prices were shown for those properties.

I was also given a value estimate for my home, but it was presented as a huge range (the high end of the estimate was $70,000 above the low end). I did not find this site very helpful.

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HomeGain.com

This process started like some of the others. I was initially asked for my zip code, which I provided. The next screen is what impressed me the most. I was immediately presented with a map of homes that have sold in my zip code recently, with street address as well as the actual selling price.

The map was interactive, which allowed me to click and drag it to different areas (to get closer to my neighborhood). Each sold property showed up as an icon, which revealed the exact address and selling price upon being clicked. Very helpful.

There were a lot of others tools as well, too many to be described in this article. If you are serious about selling your home in the near future, and you want an effective way to get a home value estimate online, I recommend this website.

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HouseValues.com

From the home page, this looks like a quick and easy way to get a free online estimate of my home value. It only asks for my zip code at first, followed by a button labeled with "free report."

When you enter your zip and click the button, however, you are asked for a lot more information (when compared to the other sites on this list). But maybe they need this information to provide you with a more accurate estimate of the value, in which case it's all well and good. I wouldn't know, because I never got to the end of the process.

After the first screen of information, I was asked for even more information. At this point, I felt like I was being pumped for information and not given anything in return. So I bailed out.

There's something else I disliked about this website. I couldn't find any information about how they come up with their home value estimates. It might have been buried in the terms of use somewhere, but I shouldn't have to dig for it. In fact, the entire process felt like a "funnel" designed to extract information from me, while make the information that I needed very hard to find.

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Yahoo Real Estate

Over the last couple of years, Yahoo has been putting a lot of time, effort and money into the real estate section of their website. I know this, because the tools they offer today are much better than anything they've had in the past.

The home value tool is par for the course. Some of their data (or possibly all of it) seems to be provided by Zillow and eppraisal.com, which are also covered on this list. But Yahoo has contributed a nice interface and solid programming to the mix. The end result is that you get a comprehensive data base with easy-to-use tools. I recommend this site as well.

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Zillow.com

Zillow is one of the original players in the online home value area. Their website has evolved over time, and it now provides a wealth of real estate information and tools. But providing value estimates is still one of their core services.

From the home page, you would select "homes" in the main search box, and then provide your street address. You'll then be shown an aerial satellite photo of your neighborhood, with prices from recent sales in the area. You can toggle the map from map between the aerial view and a regular street map, or a hybrid of the two.

You can also sign up for email updates through the site, which is a great way to stay informed about homes being sold in the area, how much they are selling for, how long they stay on the market, etc.

If you want to know what they base their home value estimates on (they refer to it as a "Zestimate"), you can click the link at the bottom of their website that says "Values and Accuracy."

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Data Alone is Not Enough

Keep mind that all of these websites provide estimates based on data (property tax information, recent home sales, etc.). But they do not take into account upgrades you've made to the property, landscaping, etc. In other words, online home estimates are based on part of the picture -- not the entire picture.

So if you really want to know what your home is worth in the current market, it's probably best to hire a professional appraiser. This person will visit your home and do a room-by-room assessment. They'll look at the lot, the view, the upgrades you've made, etc. Then they will factor in the recent sales data they have your area (and they'll have a lot of it). This will give you a more accurate picture of your home's value -- more accurate than any of the estimates you can get online for free. The old saying holds true. You get what you pay for.

You'll find more tips for pricing your home on the main website.