March 31, 2008 update: We now have a direct link from this blog to the So Cal Multiple Listing Service. Just click “Search So Cal Multiple Listings” under “Great Links” near the top of the column to the right of this post. For more details, read on:
For years we’ve been frustrated with the real estate search engines available to the general public.
Realtor.com is generally the most popular, and may have the best access to Multiple Listing Service (M.L.S.) listings on a nationwide basis. But we find the search options so broad they’re not terribly useful. (For example, “lot size” starts with a minimum 1/2 acre–not real useful in Long Beach!) Worse, their most popular searches use paid placement to sort the results. They also only show one photo unless the listing agent pays for more. (We know, because we pay for high placement & photos. Feels like extortion to us, but in this market we need to do all we can for our sellers.)
Now we’ve got a better option, at least for buyers (or sellers) interested in Orange County or southeast Los Angeles County. We just linked our real estate website, SoCalRealEstateNews.com and now this blog as well, directly to the So Cal M.L.S. No ads, no paid placement, more photos, you can include homes in escrow, and you can search without revealing any personal info.
Now for some pointers about the search, from someone who’s been searching the MLS since before there were computers to search with. Just click on “Search So Cal Multiple Listings” under “Great Links” at the top of the column directly to the right of this post.
The basic search screen will come up, which lets you specify your exact price range, or just a top price (or bottom price, if you happen to be Bill Gates). We recommend going slightly above your top price, since most sellers are willing to negotiate in this market.
Don’t skip “style,” because that’s where you specify single family or condo/townhome or both.
Under city you also have the option of searching by zip code, which is a huge help in every city we know of with more than 1 zip code.
You can also search by school district, another major help in cities like Lakewood or La Palma that are split between several districts.
Before you click on “Search Now,” be sure to scroll down another inch to click on the “Advanced Search” bar. This lets you specify a minimum for square feet of living space. That’s often more useful than bedroom count, since one listing agent’s bedroom is another’s den and another’s closet.
As you scroll down you may want to skip the “special” sections, as that data is not mandatory for listing agents to input, and many agents apparently have better things to do than properly market their listings.
Be sure to scroll all the way down to the “Include:” section, where we recommend including the max 15 properties at a time so you can scroll instead of clicking pages. The cryptic “display results with” drop-down allows you to sort by price, starting with the lowest priced homes. Again, to accommodate Bill Gates & his colleagues, you can also sort starting with the highest priced homes if you prefer.
Please give it a try, & let us know what you think, if you have any questions or other tips, by clicking on the bold “comment” directly below on the right.
