Residz Team 4 min read
‘Alright, alright, alright’. Property research is a happening thing right now. The top real estate websites are as cool as Matthew McConaughey delivering his ‘alright’ line in the 1994 movie Dazed and Confused. Like the actor, there are some cool players out there in property research. Both old and new, these websites are finding fans in first home buyers, real estate agents, investors, speculators, and developers. The 10 best property research websites (for coolness) offer up hours of house-browsing entertainment. So (in no particular order) here are the Top 10 Coolest Real Estate Research Sites as we head into 2022!
The cutest (and coolest) idea ever to hit real estate must be the tiny house movement. Cabin Connect specialises in weeny homes, and is worth visiting if only for its e-magazine Cabin Connections. You’ll be daydreaming about a sea-change or tree-change in no time. Prices are in the $65,000 - $200,000 range for tiny homes that need land or less aesthetic on-site cabins and vans which come with rates (one was approx. $2000 a quarter including water /power bills and was ‘semi-permanent’ only, so you stay up to six months per year). Selling only park cabins and vans, tiny homes and lifestyle homes, Cabin Connect is a gem of a spot for retirees and first home buyers.
One of the leading edge new players on the block, Residz takes property research up a level to play with the cool kids in the data room. Built by a world leading, disruptive, software product and data company on Sydney’s cool Northern Beaches, Residz has astonishing information on every address in Australia. Its speedy search insights include crime rates, development applications, school results, bushfire risk, internet speeds, and a proprietary investability index. Within seconds, this clever free tool gives you amazing stats on any house in Australia, even those not for sale, or your very own!
Headquartered in Melbourne, home of 2021’s coolest street in the world, Realestate.com.au is chockablock full of eye-candy for property enthusiasts. Who hasn’t spent hours on this site salivating over all the styled living rooms, beachfront homes, and renovators’ delights? For home buyers and sellers this is a great starting point to scout out what’s on the market, and what’s been sold. Most homes for sale in Australia will end up being listed here, and that’s pretty cool if you’re a seller, buyer, or REA shareholder!
Cool features such as website tiles listing ‘dream homes’ for sale makes a visit to Domain as enjoyable and satisfying as an icy drink on a summer’s day. Based out of Sydney, publicly-listed Domain Group’s Domain.com.au is a must-visit for anyone considering buying or selling a home in Australia. It’s got almost every property on the market and they’re all beautifully presented. A cool feature is how it remembers your last suburb searches, which, for a serial searcher like myself, can be very helpful. A great site to check out the very latest listings.
If you prefer your property still in its packaging, this is the website for you. It lists the new apartments and townhouses just on the market, or coming onto the market, for those keen to be the very first home owner. Started in Melbourne (it used to be Urban Melbourne), it was bought in 2018 by tech entrepreneurs Mike Bird and George Glover, who say their mission is to radically improve the quality of new homes being built across Australia. How cool is that?
No other real estate search website has so many pictures of cows or agents in pink shirts. Australia is one of the most urbanised nations, with 90% of the population living in just 0.22 per cent of the country's land area and 85% living within 50 kilometres of the coast, according to Wikipedia. But Covid prompted many of us to don Akubras and R.M.Williams, and this website is magic for searching for rural properties. After more than 180 years within the Australian agribusiness industry, Elders is an institution based in Adelaide. This appetising website shows it’s moving with the times.
A smart looking website that is a fine place to look at for homes for sale, but its cool factor comes from the questions people ask, and the suburb reviews. I was very pleased to see that my street got a review rating of 4.6 (albeit based on one review!) My suburb got a pretty low rating - but I accept you get out what you put in, so I’ll have to whip up some enthusiasm in our area. Great to check out if you’re moving cities.
Sotheby’s website makes you question whether you really do live in Australia. The jaw-dropping places listed for sale are really something else, castles, lodges, country estates, and islands sprinkled among the spacious and styled-to-within-an-inch-of-their-lives ‘standard’ luxury homes. Most are Price Upon Request and all are beautifully presented for sale. An extraordinary inspiration for sellers, and the destination for high-net-worth buyers.
Not all of us can afford to buy, but why should home buyers and sellers have all the fun? Rent.com.au has the tagline ‘Made for Renters’ which is empowering and welcoming. It feels very happening with rentals listed ‘2 minutes ago’ or ‘3 minutes ago’ (I kept refreshing just to see if this was true - it seems to be). With 56,000 rentals listed, it’s worth giving this a go if you’re movin’-on-out.
Is it cool to sell your own home without an estate agent? Thousands of home sellers on SaleByHomeOwner.com.au must think so because they’ve taken out their iPhones and laptops, by golly, and done it! Not too glossy, not too flashy, this is real estate marketing how it used to be, and it’s pretty compelling to visit. You see bras hanging up on doors, and washing baskets on floors. It’s real and it’s moving. Top marks for being so anti-cool you’re cool.
Image: https://cabinconnect.com.au/listings/