With technology trending and easing our lifestyles, buying real estate through online websites is the new trend. It is said that more than 50% of buyers find homes through the Internet, while the rest find through a realtor or open advertisement.
Keeping that in mind, sites like Zillow enjoy the e-commerce market when it comes to real estate websites. With the online preview, prospective buyers can have a preview of several houses seated in the comfort of their couches and make a list of options in a matter of a few hours. It is a win-win for both the seller and the buyer.
These online websites like Zillow offer search functions, costs, and support features to help you hunt the perfect real estate according to your choice. Now with the real estate market in trend, why limit yourself to only one application? This article has come up with the best ten Zillow alternatives to help you find your home sweet home.
What Is Zillow?
Zillow is one of the top-rated online real estate platforms that is popular on both Android and iOS. It offers a powerful rental property analysis for buyers, sellers, agents, landlords, and other home professionals.
It lets you search through apartments and houses, list them for rent or sale, and allows you a home tour with available pictures and video media, connect with the respective agent, seller, or landlord, save the option, and receive a push notification for any update.
Why Do People Use Zillow?
- Zillow is totally free for 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 on 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.
10 Best Zillow Alternative Real Estate Websites in 2024:
1. Realtor.com
Among the top-rated sites like Zillow, Realtor.com is an absolute gold standard for real estate websites. It has, over the years, gained the trust and goodwill of its valued customers to never mislead or disappoint them when it comes to home status and property value. The Realtor app has a 4.5-star rating on Google Play with more than 200,000 downloads and a 4.7 rating on the App Store with more than 250,000 reviews.
Pros of Realtor.com
- 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 of Realtor.com
- 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.
See Also: Real Estate Trends and Marketing Ideas to Attract Customers
2. Trulia
Trulia is a powerful, simple, and easy-to-use Zillow alternative. It has two different mobile apps- Trulia Real Estate: Find Homes and Trulia Renters for those looking for houses and apartments to buy or rent. What makes it the best among the Zillow alternatives is that in 2015, Zillow bought Trulia for $2.5 billion, and has been worthwhile ever since.
Another exciting feature apart from its frequent updates is its multiple maps viewing for each property. It tells you a lot about the vicinity, the type of neighborhood, and a statistic of how your community. With more than 206,000 downloads, Trulia has a 4.6 average rating on Google Play and a million reviews in the Apple Store with an average rating of 4.8.
Pros of Trulia
- It offers an 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 of Trulia
- Home sellers cannot list their property for sale.
- You will have to register yourself before you can enjoy the website.
Also Read: Best CRM Software for Real Estate Agents
3. Foreclosure.com
As the name says, Foreclosure.com is the best platform for foreclosures. It allows you to get your hands on the best real estate before they dissolve in the mass market. It offers a mixture of sorting, quantity of listings, and search criteria.
Foreclosure.com understands how complicated and challenging it is to find a property. It, therefore, provides tutorial videos, checklists, and articles to help you walk through each of the listings and find the perfect home, possibly at a discount. The Foreclosure app is rated 1.5 on Apple Store and 2.6 on Google Play with 38 users and 387 downloads.
Pros of Foreclosure
- It offers you a 7-days trial period.
- Foreclosure.com includes more than 750,000 foreclosure, tax lien, and 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 of Foreclosure
- 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.
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4. Apartments.com
Apartments.com is a Zillow alternative that not only provides you a list of suitable apartments but also gives you tips on improving your rental experience and about the surrounding neighborhood. It has an impressive number of listings in its database and an equally impressive number of which have been visited, photographed, and validated by researchers.
The app is free to use and also offers you pictures, 3D tours, availability dates, current rent, floor plans, and many more. Apartments.com Rental Search has a 4.6-star rating on Google Play and Apartments.com Rental Finder has a 4.8 on Apple Store.
Pros of Apartments.com
- 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 of Apartments.com
- 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 an excellent Zillow alternative site with a packaged offering with options to list on MLS and websites such as Zillow and Trulia. FSBO.com comes in two different packages- the FSBO package and the MLS package.
The former costs $99.95 that offers you a 6-month listing on FSBO along with pictures and videos. The latter costs $399.95, and provides a listing on the MLS and several syndicated real estate websites such as Realtor.com and Zillow.
Pros of FSBO.com
- 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 of FSBO.com
- FSBO.com has no mobile app.
- There are limited search and sort criteria.
- It has got comparatively less property information than other Zillow alternatives.
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6. Homes for Heroes
If you are a hero- a firefighter, a health professional, a police officer, a teacher, an EMS professional, or have served in the military, you can enjoy this app- buy, sell, refinance, earn rewards, and many more. Homes for Heroes is a website like Zillow for rentals and real estate purchases.
They ask you to fill out a short form online and then help you locate the perfect property from among its nationwide network of realtors, lenders, and services that have agreed to serve the heroes at a discount.
Pros of Homes for Heroes
- 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 of Homes for Heroes
- 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 alternative that not only provides real estate listings but also agency services to buyers and services. It is a bridge that gaps the benefits of both realtor services and real estate website listings. It lists suitable properties, offers pictures of all significant properties, handles paperwork, negotiates prices on your behalf, provides a ‘For Sale’ yard for available properties, and many more.
Pros of Homebay
- 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 of Homebay
- 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.
Related: Best Sites for Listing Your Apartment or Home for Rent
8. Redfin
Redfin is a similar alternative to Zillow, especially for those who are used to Zillow’s layout. The site employs real agents to help you offer fantastic customer service. They serve you with listings directly connected to the MLS, offer rebates on selling costs, and a platform where you can make a side-by-side comparison of the several options you have in your mind.
Pros of Redfin
- 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 of Redfin
- 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 it, the site will not reveal any listing information.
9. Homesnap
Homesnap is one of the easiest and most sorted Zillow alternatives among the various real estate applications. Its mobile application, too, is easy to use and highly integrated. The best part about the application is that it reveals information about unlisted properties as well. The app will connect you with a reliable agent if you are interested in buying or selling a property. Homesnap app has a 4.4 average rating on Google Play and 4.8 on the App Store with more than 64,000 reviews.
Pros of Homesnap
- 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 of Homesnap
- 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 is a site like Zillow that is known for its massive database. The site helps you calculate a listing price which you can use to sell your property right away. Each home they offer on the listing has up to 30 comps which will be helpful when you list your property or check if the house is overpriced.
Pros of Real Estate ABC
- 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 of Real Estate ABC
- Real Estate ABC shows too many ads, which can make the experience cumbersome.
Conclusion
With the above top ten Zillow alternatives, you now have many options, some free and some that stand to be true Zillow alternatives. I hope your search for the best real estate website ends here.