The real estate game has changed. Gone are the days where you’d only hear about a new listing by driving by or in the paper. Now at the simple tap of an app you can see all the listings around you, and you can have them delivered straight to your inbox. Man, I love technology! 

But, it can be extremely overwhelming. Especially when you don’t know where to start. There are so many different resources out there, and their quality varies depending on where you live.

So — how the heck do you search for properties online in a sea full of options? Well, I’ve got a big secret for you that no one talks about.. 

The key to searching for properties online isn’t about the platform, but it’s about the contact you’ve made — the REALTOR®. Why? Well, every property you see online on the various different websites is being auto populated from the same source. Yep, that’s right. Everything gets pulled from the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system, the one platform that every listing has to put their information onto (unless it’s a private sale which in that case it likely won’t be online). 

So the secret isn’t actually in the website you use, but it’s in searching for a REALTOR ! Why? Because if you’re planning to buy a property, you’re going to want to use a realtor. Taking the time now to find a reputable and knowledgeable realtor means you’ll be able to work with someone to truly customize your search, ask questions, and get into properties that catch your eye right away. If you’re in the Edmonton area, I’m your gal! 

Once youve found your realtor and have contacted them, ask them to set you up on a search via their website (or set one up yourself. You can easily set up your own search on my website here). Every realtor will have access to a website that can set you up on a custom search, and if they don’t have access you probably don’t want to work with them. 

For me personally, my clients get set up on a search based on area, budget, sqft or bed/bath requirements, keywords for what they are looking for, exclusions for what they want to avoid, ownership type, closing time, etc. It can get very customized which really helps to weed out options that will be a waste of time to even look at. Of course, it doesn’t have to get that specific. We can make it as broad or as narrowed as your want. 

Once you’re set up on a search, you’ll get all of the relevant listings sent to your email right away. And then anything newly listed after that will be sent at the frequency you choose (instantly, daily or weekly). Within my platform you can immediately mark the property as favourite, considering, or definitely no. This helps to organize everything so you can quickly reference back to what you were looking at. 

And like I mentioned, every listing online gets pulled from the same database, so all of the information you’ll find is right there for you! And then of course, there are things that aren’t pushed to the public that a REALTOR® can access, such as the private remarks and price history. 

If you’re curious about properties in Edmonton, and want to get set up on a search, click here!

I hope this information was helpful!