Chicago MLS Listings Search

See Chicago Neighborhood Views on Google Maps!

August 29, 2008

If you’ve found a home for sale that looks great online, but you’re curious about its immediate neighborhood, Google Maps may have the views you’re looking for! The blue areas in the map below show that street level views are available for most of the city of Chicago and are expanding out into much of Click to continue...

SunTimes.com & ChicagoTribune.com Join Real Estate Search Test

July 17, 2008

I am quite flattered that the Chicago Sun-Time’s SearchChicago-Homes Editor, Kay Severinsen, wrote about my post yesterday, “How Good are National Real Estate Websites for Searching for Homes for Sale?” in her article today, “This site tops for search results“. Kay ran the same search for a house in Evanston priced between $400K and $500K Click to continue...

How Good are National Real Estate Websites for Searching for Homes for Sale?

July 16, 2008

Monday’s Wall Street Journal included an article, “How to Sell a House When You Have to Sell it Now“, by David Crook. Mr. Crook is the author of “The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook”. In the article Mr. Crook tells home sellers to list their homes on leading real estate websites which include Click to continue...

BairdWarner.com Dynamic Maps Now Searchable

June 26, 2008

Previously BairdWarner.com users could see where a home for sale was located on a map and add amenities such as schools and public transportation to that map. Now powered by Google Maps, BairdWarner.com users can use those maps to search for homes in their price range. As you can see below, a search using price Click to continue...

Make the Most of BairdWarner.com’s Search Form!

March 30, 2008

Have I mentioned that BairdWarner.com was named the best site for real estate search by Chicago Magazine? Yet, many home buyers registered on BairdWarner.com don’t take advantage of the full power of the search form (shown below). Depending on your monitor’s resolution, many users only see the top part of the search form and don’t Click to continue...

Chicago Magazine Names BairdWarner.Com Best for Real Estate Search!

February 6, 2008

The February 2008 issue of Chicago Magazine (currently on newsstands) includes BairdWarner.com as one of 171 Great Chicago Web Sites. Regarding BairdWarner.com, the article states, “Almost every real estate site these days lets visitors search property listings from the Multiple Listing Service. The search tool at BairdWarner.com is the best, with a nifty Google Maps Click to continue...

How to Hear About Upcoming Open Houses for Homes That Meet Your Criteria

January 17, 2008

Baird & Warner’s HomeFinder System not only lets buyers find homes that meet their criteria, it now sends weekly email updates of such homes that are having an open house in the coming weekend. The open houses aren’t just Baird & Warner open houses, but open houses for homes listed by all Chicago area brokers. Click to continue...

BairdWarner.Com Guided Tours Improved

December 22, 2007

The guided tours on BairdWarner.com were recently updated to provide larger photos, closed captioning, and improved navigation through the tours. The improvements provide home buyers better information and more control over moving through the tours. Listings on BairdWarner.com also have dynamic maps showing amenities such as grocery stores, public transportation and schools in the neighborhood. Click to continue...

Searching for a Home in a Specific Neighborhood has its Challenges

July 25, 2007

The other night I was on the phone with a buyer who inquired about Gold Coast houses for sale. I ran a quick search in MLSNI* for listings with Gold Coast as the subdivision and the system returned only 2 houses. The next day I ran a search of Near North Side houses (which would Click to continue...

Realtor.Com – Good for Starting a Home Search, But Not Serious Searching

April 27, 2007

This afternoon a family relocating from Michigan sent me a list of 9 houses they would like in see in Naperville. They developed the list by looking at homes for sale on Realtor.Com. Before they sent the list, I mentioned that one or two of the homes might no longer be on the market. When Click to continue...

MLS Listings’ Lot Sizes Often Incorrect

March 21, 2007

If you are using an online Multiple Listing System (MLS) listings system such as Realtor.Com or BairdWarner.Com to search for homes for sale and are searching for homes for sale with a specific minimum lot size here’s a tip that may save you wasted trips to homes for sale on lots that aren’t as advertised. Click to continue...

Home Searching in Chicago Area School Districts

March 2, 2007

I’m currently working with a couple looking to buy a home in a specific elementary school district. Every day I run a search for new homes coming on the market in that elementary school district. As far as I can tell, buyers who prefer to look on their own online in the Chicago area can’t Click to continue...

Realtor.Com – Lots of Traffic, But Not the Most Timely

February 24, 2007

This morning I enhanced a new listing on Realtor.Com. The home went on the market on Wednesday, but this was the first chance I had to add a headline, description, and other information since it can take up to 2 business days for a new listing to appear on Realtor.com. From a listing agent’s perspective, Click to continue...