Finding a good investment property for sale is no longer a struggle for beginner investors!
Nowadays, finding the best properties is as easy as a click of a few buttons thanks to a large number of emerging real estate websites, online tools, and services designed to meet investors’ needs. No matter what your real estate investing strategy is, whether you’re starting out in real estate investing or a seasoned investor, you can find the best real estate investments in the US housing market from the comfort of your home simply by doing an online property search.
But with the internet featuring thousands of home search sites, how can you identify the best real estate investor websites? No need to feel overwhelmed, we’ve compiled this list of the top websites for investors thinking of buying real estate properties. Whatever type of investment property you’re looking for, you’re bound to find it through using one of these sites. We’re sure you’ve heard of at least one or more of these top real estate websites as experts have considered them to be the best of the best. Try them for yourself and see just how easy it is to research housing markets, evaluate investment properties for sale, and score profitable real estate deals.
Note: The following sites for finding investment property for sale are listed in no particular order.
1- Realtor
First on our list is none other than Realtor.com – the official site of the National Association of Realtors®. 20 years ago, Realtor.com pioneered the world of digital real estate and millions of homeowners have turned to it to find their dream home ever since. It offers a comprehensive list of properties for sale in addition to information and useful tools to make an informed real estate decision. So, there’s no reason for real estate investors not to use this home search site to search for and find their dream investment properties as well!
An interesting tool that Realtor.com offers is the Home Value Tool. To use it, all you’ve got to do is enter the zip code or the street address where you’re searching for an investment property for sale. Realtor.com will then send you a report including the estimated value of homes in that neighborhood. This information is beneficial for real estate investors – it ensures they’re investing in a good location where home values have gone up and that buying real estate here will have a good return on investment.
Moreover, if you’re signed up to Realtor’s SearchAssist program, you’ll receive listing alerts based on your property search criteria delivered to your email inbox when new listings come on the market! This is great for investors who are always looking for houses for sale and want to score the best real estate investments before anyone else in their market.
2- RealtyTrac
If your real estate strategy is to buy foreclosed homes, then you should check out RealtyTrac.com. Founded in 1996, this is a leading real estate site that provides foreclosure data for homebuyers and real estate investors looking to buy distressed real estate. You can search for all types of foreclosure listings (pre-foreclosure, auctioned homes, and bank-owned homes) across the US housing market. Not only can you find a foreclosed investment property for sale online using RealtyTrac.com, but the website also offers guides to teach you the basics of foreclosures from how to buy them to the latest news on foreclosures.
Related: What Is a Foreclosure? How Can You Invest in One?
As you’re searching for a foreclosed rental property for sale using RealtyTrac.com, the real estate website will also provide extensive information on the neighborhood where the property is located. This includes market trends, unemployment rate, schools, crime rates, and others that matter to real estate investors. Moreover, if you’re buying foreclosures for the first time and are unsure of how the process goes, don’t worry. In its Agent Network, RealtyTrac.com will connect you with a professional who can guide you through the process of buying a foreclosure or other distressed properties.
3- Auction
Investors have been buying investment properties through real estate auctions for a long time, but now the process is easier thanks to online auction sites. The most popular real estate website that offers this unique service is Auction.com. The site offers the largest selection of discounted residential bank-owned homes, foreclosure homes, and short sale rental properties. A buyer can search for and find the perfect real estate investment property for sale, bid at live or online house auctions, and win the auction all in one place!
Furthermore, you can check the website’s calendar to browse through upcoming auctions (both live and online), their locations, times, the types of properties being auctioned, as well as the number of properties that will be sold. Auction.com also makes it easy to filter property search results and sort them by date, property type, and location. If you’ve never bought a rental property through an online real estate auction, Auction.com has also created how-to guides that’ll walk you through the bidding process step-by-step so you can start bidding and winning auctions like a pro.
4- Mashvisor
Our list would not be complete without mentioning Mashvisor.com. Investors using Mashvisor to search for investment property for sale will find exactly what they’re looking for in a matter of minutes thanks to big data analytics that the site provides. With data on over 6 million properties (both traditional and Airbnb properties for sale), you can search for and find homes for sale in any city and neighborhood in the US housing market that best match your investment criteria. Whatever type of investment properties you’re looking for, like:
- Single-family homes
- Multi-family homes
- Apartments for sale
- Condos
- Townhomes
- Foreclosed homes
- Short-sale properties
- Auctioned homes
- Bank-owned homes
- Off market properties
You can find them right here on Mashvisor.com! The interesting thing about Mashvisor is that it’s not only a home search site but an analytics platform too. It provides investors with the tools they need to analyze the profitability of homes for sale they find on the site. Using Mashvisor’s Rental Property Calculator, you can see the potential ROI you can get in terms of rental income, cash flow, cap rate, and cash on cash return. You’ll also get a breakdown of rental expenses associated with the property, as you can see in the image below.
Another tool that Mashvisor.com provides (that some of the other real estate investor websites don’t) is the Property Finder. Using this tool, you can find the best rental investment property for sale in up to five cities based on your budget, optimal rental strategy, and other search criteria that you can personalize. You’ll also get real estate rental comps to run a comparative market analysis quickly.
Plus, our Heatmap Analysis Tool provides neighborhood-level data to confirm that you’re buying rental properties in a good location. What’s more, you can also search an entire area and find who owns a property along with their contact information (including emails and phone numbers) so you can contact them directly if you wish to with the Mashboard.
Sign up now to see why Mashvisor is a trusted website for real estate investors anywhere in the US!
5- Trulia
Next up on our list of top real estate websites is Trulia.com. This is a very well-known site among buyers and renters looking for houses for sale in neighborhoods across the US through recommendations, local insights, and map overlays that offer details on commute, crime rates, schools, churches, and the nearby businesses. Even though it’s mainly used by homebuyers and renters, the type of information and data on Trulia is also useful to real estate investors. Think about it: Trulia aims to help people find the best places to live – these are the best places to invest in real estate!
Related: 10 Best Places to Invest in Real Estate in 2020
Smart investors use this home search site to see where people are looking for rental properties to live in. Using many filters, you can customize your property search criteria to be as simple or as detailed as you wish and find investment property for sale that you can buy to rent out. To make sure you’re buying real estate in a good location, Trulia allows you to browse original neighborhood photos, drone footage, and read residents’ reviews and local insights.
6- Zillow
Established in 2006, Zillow.com is an online real estate database company that I’m sure you’ve heard of before. You can use this website to do real estate market research whether you’re a homebuyer, seller, renter, or investor. For real estate investors, there are a few ways to use Zillow as one of the top sites for finding investment property for sale online. First, if you have specific search criteria that you always use to screen properties for sale, you can save it and access it the next time you use Zillow.
Zillow is also known for giving value estimates of homes for sale taking into account other similar homes nearby. You can look up recently sold homes in the neighborhood you’re looking to invest in as well as information about a specific property for sale. Lastly, you can create an email alert for new listings. Zillow will send you an email anytime a residential investment property that meets your buying criteria comes on the market for sale.
7- PropStream
PropStream.com is a great real estate website specifically for investors, realtors, and brokers. As a real estate investor, you can use this home search site to find cheap houses for sale nationwide. You can choose from numerous property types like pre-foreclosures, MLS expired and failed listings, cash buyers, high equity, involuntary liens, bankruptcy, divorce and more. Hence, it’s one of the top real estate investor websites to find urgent sellers as well as vacant properties that you can buy for real estate investing.
Another use of PropStream is to estimate your real rehab costs before purchasing a property. Moreover, investors can analyze their investment properties’ equity based on mortgage debts and estimated home values. The bottom line, this home search site is great if your investment strategy is buying a house to fix-and-flip as a way of making money in real estate.
Related: 8 Best Real Estate Investment Strategies for Beginners
8- PropertyShark
Originally founded as a property research tool, Propertyshark.com has gradually developed into a must-have tool for real estate professionals. To help property investors, this real estate site focuses on providing them with property records and reports. These deliver information like when the property was developed, who owns it, its characteristics, up-to-date sales history, property value estimates, information about current zoning, air rights, and more.
A special feature of this site is that it contains this type of information for both commercial and residential investment property for sale. In addition, PropertyShark offers data for foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings such as the amount of the lien on the property, where it’s being auctioned, and the date and time of the auction. So if you’re looking to find distressed properties and cheap houses for sale online, this real estate website’s got your back.
You can also use Mashvisor to look for and analyze distressed investment properties in your city and neighborhood of choice! Click here to get started.
9- LoopNet
All of the home search sites mentioned so far are more for finding a residential investment property for sale. LoopNet.com, however, focuses on commercial real estate investors. It has a massive inventory of commercial listings (for sale and for lease), allowing investors to search for and find all types of commercial real estate investments anywhere in the US housing market. You can get access to insights on the property that you’re interested in like its price, square footage, date of sale, and the number of rooms it has. LoopNet also provides real estate comps for any listing to help investors verify value before making a purchase.
A great feature of this website is that you can focus your property search only on pre-foreclosure listings or bank-owned properties that you can buy at substantial discounts. LoopNet will also provide other useful information like owners’ information, tenant information, and even tax information. Real estate investors can also check local market trends for a great number of cities throughout the country using this site.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re looking to start or grow your real estate investing business, these are the top real estate investor websites that will help you find the best rental investment property for sale. While some are unique in their own way, a lot of these home search sites offer similar services. Thus, make sure you do further research to decide which one caters to your needs as a real estate investor. If you’re interested in learning more about Mashvisor and how we’ll help you make faster and smarter real estate investment decisions, click here!