Buying real estate through internet portals is the new trend, as technology advances and makes our lives easier. More than half of purchasers are claimed to find properties through the internet, with the rest finding them through a realtor or an open advertisement. Keeping this in mind, real estate companies such as Zillow benefit from the e-commerce market.
With the online preview, potential buyers can explore multiple houses from the comfort of their own homes and create a short list of alternatives in only a few hours. Both the vendor and the consumer benefit from it. These internet platforms, such as Zillow, include search tools, costs, and support features to assist you in finding the ideal real estate for your needs. Why limit yourself to just one application now that the real estate market is booming? This post has compiled a list of the top ten Zillow alternatives to assist you in finding your dream home.
What is Zillow?
Zillow is a top-rated online real estate platform that is available on both Android and iOS devices. It provides buyers, sellers, agents, landlords, and other real estate professionals with a strong tool. It allows you to search for apartments and houses, list them for rent or sale, take a home tour with accessible photo and video media, connect with the agent, vendor, or landlord, store the option, and receive push notifications for any updates.
Why Do People Use Zillow?
- Zillow is totally free for the buyers.
- The real estate website has the most extensive database with over 100 million real estate properties.
- It guides you on how to purchase a property with its ‘how-to’ guides.
- Zillow also has various links to get pre-qualified financing options.
Why Should You Go for Zillow Alternatives?
- Unrealistic valuations of properties by Zestimate algorithm of Zillow. So, it may be possible that no one other than the listing agent would know anything about the respective houses.
- As a Realtor or lender, you will have to pay the advertising fees at the Zillow website.
- Also, they pay for leads onsite. As a buyer, you should read their data selling policy while filling out the onsite forms.
Top 10 Zillow Alternative Real Estate Websites in 2021 with Similar or Better Features:
1. Realtor.com
Realtor.com is the gold standard for real estate websites, ranking among the top-rated sites such as Zillow. It has earned the trust and goodwill of its loyal consumers over the years by never misleading or disappointing them when it comes to house status and property valuation. With over 200,000 downloads, the Realtor app has a 4.5-star rating on Google Play and a 4.7-star rating on the App Store, with over 250,000 reviews.
Pros
- Similar to Zillow, it is absolutely free for buyers and renters.
- It has a comprehensive database, with almost 99% of all the MLS-listed (Multiple Listing Services) properties.
- It offers a simple-to-use platform wherein buyers and renters can easily search through homes in a school district.
- The platform also offers a ‘find a realtor’ feature which will come in handy for you.
- As a Zillow alternative, Realtor.com too offers links to get pre-qualified financing financial calculators to estimate the buy and sell price.
Cons
- It does not offer any medium for sellers to list their property on sale.
- It has fewer research articles to offer onsite.
- There is no option to look for ‘Sale by Owner’ listings.
2. Trulia
Trulia is a powerful, simple, and user-friendly Zillow substitute. Trulia Real Estate: Find Homes and Trulia Renters are two different smartphone apps for those searching to buy or rent houses and apartments. What makes it the finest Zillow alternative is that Zillow purchased Trulia for $2.5 billion in 2015 and has been profitable ever since.
Apart from the rapid updates, another appealing feature is the ability to examine various maps for each property. It provides information on the area, the sort of neighbourhood, and a statistic about how your neighbourhood is doing. Trulia has a 4.6 average rating on Google Play with over 206,000 downloads and a million reviews on the Apple Store with a 4.8 average rating.
Pros
- It offers excellent geographic search around the property. All you have to do is draw a loop with your finger on the map.
- Offers links to get pre-qualified financing and financial calculators, just like Zillow and Realtor.com.
- You will receive personalized notifications for your selected criteria.
- The app offers excellent local information about the selected properties.
- It also offers tutorials to guide you and enhance your app experience.
- Like other Zillow alternatives, Trulia is free for users.
Cons
- Home sellers cannot list their property for sale.
- You will have to register yourself before you can enjoy the website.
3. Foreclosure.com
Foreclosure.com is the premier platform for foreclosures, as the name implies. It allows you to get your hands on the nicest real estate before it becomes available to the general public. It has a combination of sorting, listing quantity, and search criteria. Foreclosure.com recognises how difficult and time-consuming it may be to locate a property.
As a result, it offers tutorial videos, checklists, and articles to assist you in walking through each ad and finding the perfect home, potentially at a reduced price. With 38 users and 387 downloads, the Foreclosure app has a 1.5 rating on Apple Store and a 2.6 rating on Google Play.
Pros
- It offers you a 7-days trial period.
- Foreclosure.com includes more than 750,000 foreclosure, tax lien, bankruptcy listings throughout the nation.
- It offers a ‘how-to’ guide to explain the process of purchasing a foreclosure.
- The ‘search criteria’ option offers you properties that are city-owned, rent-to-own, sheriff sales, shadow inventory, and many more.
- Its Document Center tab has links and other required forms that allow you to search for properties through a title search.
Cons
- The app is free to use. However, only paid subscribers can use the features thoroughly.
- You will have to bear a monthly fee of $39.80 to enjoy its full features.
- Also, the 7-day trial period requires you to provide credit card details.
- The update frequently is flawed.
4. Apartments.com
Apartments.com is a Zillow alternative that not only lists appropriate apartments but also offers recommendations on how to improve your renting experience and information about the surrounding community. It has a large number of listings in its database, as well as a large number of listings that have been visited, photographed, and verified by researchers.
The app is free to download and includes features such as photos, 3D tours, availability dates, current rent, floor plans, and more. On Google Play, Apartments.com Rental Search has a 4.6-star rating, while Apartments.com Rental Finder has a 4.8-star rating.
Pros
- It has a robust mobile application that lets you search and offers you the ‘Apply now’ feature.
- You can search through the listings by more than just geography. You can look directly for ‘Pet-Friendly Apartments’.
- It not only provides you with numerous apartment listings but also condos, houses, and townhouses.
Cons
- It offers detailed geographic details except for the crime detail.
- There are some update issues relating to the app.
- If you wish to apply for up to 10 applications in 30 days, you will have to pay $24.99 plus taxes.
5. FSBO.com
FSBO (For Sale by Owner) is a great Zillow alternative that offers a package deal that includes options to advertise on MLS and websites like Zillow and Trulia. The FSBO package and the MLS package are both available on FSBO.com.
The former costs $99.95 and includes a 6-month FSBO listing, as well as photos and videos. The latter is $399.95 and includes a listing on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as well as other syndicated real estate websites such as Realtor.com and Zillow.
Pros
- The different price-plan packages offer you a listing from the MLS and the syndicated best-known real estate websites.
- You can easily search for professional services, both as a buyer and a seller.
- The site works in partnership with Foreclosure.com and thus, provides you access to foreclosure inventory.
Cons
- FSBO.com has no mobile app.
- There are limited search and sort criteria.
- It has got comparatively less property information than other Zillow alternatives.
6. Homes for Heroes
You can use this app to purchase, sell, refinance, get awards, and more if you are a hero, such as a firefighter, a health professional, a police officer, a teacher, an EMS professional, or someone who has served in the military. Homes for Heroes is a real estate rental and purchase website similar to Zillow.
They ask you to complete a brief online form, after which they will assist you in finding the ideal house from among its countrywide network of realtors, lenders, and services that have agreed to serve heroes at a reduced rate.
Pros
- It offers you a concierge service to match you with the best-fit professional help and support.
- It guarantees the most hero savings and rewards amongst all national programs meant for such life heroes.
- As a hero, each of your transactions helps contribute to non-profit organizations that support local heroes.
Cons
- There is no mobile application.
- It does not offer you a platform to freely browse through the properties.
7. Homebay
Homebay is a well-known Zillow competitor that offers buyers and sellers not just real estate listings but also agency services. It serves as a link between the advantages of realtor services and real estate internet listings. It provides a ‘For Sale’ yard for available properties, lists eligible homes, provides images of all major properties, handles paperwork, negotiates price on your behalf, and much more.
Pros
- You can search for houses, condos, apartments, and multi-family real estate.
- It guides you through the entire process of selling and buying.
- It is transparent when it comes to commission and is way more cost-affordable.
- Homebay has an excellent customer support team, as vouched for by its many clients.
- It also negotiates on your behalf, thus, guaranteeing to sell your property at an excellent rate.
Cons
- There is no in-person support service.
- The listing fee starts from $2000.
- Compared to other MLS listing services, Homebay may appear to be on the expensive side.
8. Redfin
Redfin is a comparable option to Zillow, especially for individuals who are accustomed to Zillow’s interface. The site employs genuine individuals to assist you in providing excellent customer service. They provide you with listings that are directly connected to the MLS, as well as rebates on selling fees and a platform where you can compare multiple possibilities side by side.
Pros
- Since Redfin hires actual real estate agents, they work on a customer rating basis and not on commission thus, striving to provide excellent customer service.
- Information on Redfin is MLS-based and is thus, updated frequently.
- You can search directly from the map and receive all information relating to the selected property, such as square footage, year built, home value, and appreciation.
Cons
- The real estate agents are not full-service agents
- If the owner is not willing, Redfin will not reveal the exact address of the property.
- Also, unless the agent allows, the site will not reveal any listing information.
9. Homesnap
Among the different real estate apps, Homesnap is one of the most user-friendly and well-organized Zillow alternatives. Its mobile app is also simple to use and well-integrated. The nicest aspect about the app is that it also shows information about properties that aren’t on the market.
If you’re looking to purchase or sell a home, the app will connect you with a reputable realtor. With over 64,000 reviews, the Homesnap app has a 4.4 average rating on Google Play and a 4.8 average rating on the App Store.
Pros
- The mobile app offers real-time information about a property once you take a simple photograph of the same.
- You can create custom feeds and receive notifications for any updates.
- You can even share details of properties with your peers through the app.
Cons
- It requires a strong internet connection.
- Since the information is sourced through public sources, there is a chance for inaccuracy and non-updated information.
10. Real Estate ABC
Real Estate ABC, like Zillow, is well-known for its large database. The site will assist you in determining a listing price that you may use to sell your home right away. Each home on the listing offers up to 30 comparables, which will be useful when marketing your home or determining whether it is expensive.
Pros
- The site offers several informational articles to help you understand buying and selling properties.
- It also provides 16 different mortgage and real estate financial calculators.
Cons
- Real Estate ABC shows too many ads, which can make the experience cumbersome.
Conclusion
With the top ten Zillow alternatives listed above, you now have a variety of options, some of which are free and some of which are actual Zillow alternatives. I hope this is the end of your hunt for the best real estate website.
