Nancy Murray, Realtor®
with Keller Williams Clients' Choice
Direct: 719-964-4810
Office: 719-357-6320
Fax: 866-748-9878
Email Nancy

Tools for Buying A Home In Colorado Springs

There are many tools available for buyers in the Colorado Springs area. So many that it can be over whelming when trying to find the right tool to search for your next home. You need to be aware of the different tools and how they obtain their listing information. Knowing this will help you determine which tool is best for where you are at in your property search.

Agent/Broker Websites

There are two basic types of tools that you will find on agent or broker websites. Their featured listings and a third party tool managed by another company, but receiving the data from the local Colorado Springs MLS.

Agent Featured Listings

This is a good place to look when you are researching agents for listing your own property. How are they advertising their current listings? Are they putting accurate information in their own website with good pictures? I have found that many of the agents do not maintain this data, so it should not be used as a primary source when searching for a new home. Often the listings are out of date with inaccurate pricing, or no longer one of their listings. In fact, I ran across an agent with all his past listings (6 years of data) where all the properties were listed as “active.” The only reason for doing so, is to generate what our industry calls, “buyer leads.” Murray & Associats uses our featured listings on our website because we market our website heavily and want to brag about our great homes. But again, featured listings may not be the most accurate information.

Advantages: Tells you a lot about how an agent markets their listings.

Disadvantages: Data is not always reliable and does not always include ALL properties in the MLS.

Third Party Tools

Third party tools are web applications that agents pay to appear on their website or are available for the general public, such as Trulia.com, Zillow.com, and Realtor.com. The tools are searchable allowing the user to enter their own criteria. The display of the output can be a list of properties and/or a map with the properties marked with a bubble or flag. These tools are typically populated from the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors® (PPAR) Multi-listing Service (MLS), which services Colorado Springs Realtors.® They are great for doing quick checks on neighborhood properties or getting a general idea of prices for the different Colorado Springs neighborhoods. They are great tools if you are just beginning your search and are not ready to ask an agent for assistance. But they do have their limitations. Most third party tools continue to show pending or under contract properties as available. They are also often out of date, taking 3-7 or more days to update price changes. If you are waiting for your dream home to drop within your price range before taking action, these are not the tools you want to be using.

Advantages: Populated from the Colorado Springs MLS. You maintain control of the criteria and remain anonymous until you save a search.

Disadvantages: Data is not always up to date and may show unavailable properties as available.

So, if you are in the market to buy a home in the Colorado Springs area, work with Murray & Associates. We understand the differences in the search tools, know Colorado Springs MLS custom property website setup and configuration, and are available to assist you with your search. Good Luck!