There's More to Home Listings Than Searching for a Home

House hunting is a lot easier when you search online. But searching online real estate listings can also help you do much more than find the right house to buy. It can also be a valuable resource if you’re thinking about selling your home or even if you aren’t thinking about moving at all.

Here are some of the things you can do with an online search of home listings:

Survey the housing market
Like all markets, real estate is governed by supply and demand. If online listings turn up very few homes for sale in your neighborhood, that may indicate a seller’s market, since potential buyers will have fewer options. That’s good news if you’re thinking about putting your home on the market as it may mean you’ll be able to get a higher price than you would if you had to compete with a lot of other vendors. If you’re in the market to buy, however, you’ll hope for the opposite situation as it may mean you’ll be able to negotiate a better deal.

Determine average home prices
If you are selling your house, the number one factor you should consider in setting the price is what similar homes in the area have recently sold for. Searching online listings for this information will provide you with a good idea of your own home’s value. If you’re a potential buyer, searching the listings will quickly tell you the range of home prices in the area you’re considering.

Even if you aren’t planning on moving, it’s still worthwhile to know your home’s current market value. If you purchased a house with a small down payment and are currently paying for private mortgage insurance (PMI), an increase in value might raise your equity to the point where PMI is no longer necessary. (Your lender will want to confirm this with a formal appraisal.) In addition, if you’re considering a home equity loan or line of credit, or a cash-out refinance, knowing the market value of your house will help determine the size of the loan you’ll be eligible for.

Learn about selling points
Before you put your home on the market, look at the features highlighted in other listings. These tell you what professional agents believe buyers are looking for -- things such as proximity to schools, kitchen upgrades, mature trees or natural light. Be sure to highlight similar features in your home when you create your own listing. Also think about which features in the listings you notice first and which are the most appealing.

The first thing that leaps out from a listing -- other than the price -- is the photo of the home. A fresh coat of paint, some new blacktop on your driveway, or a few strategically placed flowering plants may enhance your home’s curb appeal and make your own listing photo more attractive to buyers.

Plan a tour
While you’ll typically need an agent before you make appointments to visit homes on the market, you can do your own drive-by viewing first. Some online home listings include mapping technology that can pinpoint each house’s location for you. Using this feature, you can plan a route that takes you past several homes that are up for sale. Better yet, if a number of them are within a couple of miles, plan a weekend walk to get a feel for the neighborhood you’re planning to move into.

RealEstate.com lets you search home listings across the country. http://www.realestate.com/home-listings/default.asp.