Ken Horst

Is it just me or is anybody else getting sick and tired of seeing one of these two words in every other headline? There was a time when the word "Surge" or "Plunge" in a headline related to the stock market meant something but lately, with the market making dramatic redirects every other day, these two terms have seemed to lose their oomph.

Frankly I'm kind of sick and tired of the media anyway. If it wasn't for the stock market gyrations and the pending election ( I can't wait for that to be behind us as well) I think the major media outlets would have to layoff at least 20% of their staff because their wouldn't be any news to report. The only good news about the plunging-surging stock market is that it is taking the attention away from the real estate market, which doesn't need the media's help to alarm consumers. My bet is that as soon as the election is over and the market mellows out a bit, we can count on the media to start using the word "Plunge" in reference to the real estate market, in hopes of generating readers with more gloom and doom. Don't you love those guys!

The Internet is vast and full of possibilities and if we don't know how to ask for what we want, the Internet can prove to be time consuming and frustrating. The biggest thing to keep in mind about the net is that almost every piece of information you need is on the net and available, you just have to know how to ask for it. That said, what should a person looking for a home to buy type into Google in order to find the best selection of real estate and homes for sale in their area? The answer includes the words "MLS listings".

Originally only available to real estate agents, the mls or Multiple Listing Service was where Realtors put their listings, homes for sale, so that other real estate agents could easily find them and present them to their home buyer. The mls is a database that can be sorted by a number of criteria including things like location, city, state or zip, the price of homes, features like pool, fireplace, number of bedrooms and/or bathrooms and more. The way it works is a realtor who is working with a home buyer asks them questions about what they are looking for in a home. Whether they are a first time home buyer or buying their last home, home buyers have a good idea of what they want in a home. Once the agent knows what you want, they go to their computer and enter the criteria into the MLS search. The mls then gives them a list of all the homes for sale that meet your criteria including photos. At this point they usually sit down with their client and go through a number of homes on the computer to further reduce the number of homes on the list as there are usually hundreds of homes that meet your criteria in most major metro areas and it wouldn't be a good use of your time or your agents time to try and go out to every home on the list. Once you have narrowed your search down to between 5 and 10 homes your agent will make appointments to get you into those homes and hopefully find one you like and make an offer.

The good news is that now home buyers don't need an real estate agent to access the mls database of homes for sale in their area. Your local mls database is available on many websites and agent websites, you just have to know how to ask for it. Generally when shopping for a home people type terms into Google like "real estate" or "homes for sale" preceded by a location i.e. city or state. The problem with this query is it is too vague or broad for Google and frequently the results on the first page of Google are a bunch of independent Realtors who only show the homes for sale from their clients. If you want to find web sites that show roughly all the homes for sale in your area, you must include the term "mls listings" in your search, instead of "real estate" or "homes for sale". As a result of combining a city or state with the term mls listings as in Minneapolis mls listings, you are more likely to get websites that give you access to the Realtors database, the mls and this will make your home shopping a whole lot easier. Once you have looked at the hundreds of homes available and you have narrowed your search down to 5 or 6 homes, you can contact an agent who will make appointments to get you into those homes.

Up until recently this was as good as the home search system got and it worked pretty good until you tried to search for a home in a particular neighborhood. Because most neighborhoods don't have names, it is difficult if not impossible to search for a home in neighborhood. The good news is that now some websites are starting to present the mls data on local maps so if you are interested in living near some friends, or within walking distance of your job or kids school, you can simply highlight that area of the map and the map based mls search site will show you every home for sale in that specific area. This mls map search is also available to use for free but as I mentioned above, you have to know how to ask for it. Fortunately a new website has been set up to help you find local web sites that offer map based search, the site is www.mlsmaps.com and it is a national directory of free mls web sites, with map based mls search available in most major metropolitan areas. As this technology is relatively new, it is not yet available in every market but for the most comprehensive list of where it is available, visit www.mlsmaps.com, choose your state, choose from a list of cities, and click "search all listings".

So the bottom line is if you want to see the most comprehensive list of homes for sale in your area, remember to search by your city followed by "mls listings" and if you want the ability to narrow your search down to a specific neighborhood or location, add "mls map" to your city or simply visit www.MLSMaps.com