I thought some of you might appreciate a post on useful websites for the housing crowd. You old hands out there know them all already, I'm sure, but hey -- you can hum a tune to yourself while I bring everyone else up to date. And then you can comment with useful sites I forgot to mention. Win-win!

In no particular order:

Real Property Data Search. Want to find out what homes sold in the last year on a street you're thinking about moving to? Wonder what the seller of a home you're thinking of buying paid when he bought? The state's assessors know, and they share on this site.

MdLandRec.Net. This site -- put together by the Maryland Judiciary and Maryland State Archives -- collects records such as mortgage documents. You need to sign up, but it's free.

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems' stats page. MRIS, which runs the multiple-listing service in the region, issues statistics every month about sales and prices. You can see figures by metro area, jurisdiction and ZIP code.

The federal government's House Price Index. Once run by OFHEO, now the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the HPI is an apples-to-apples look at prices in metro areas and states. It compares sales and refinancings of the same homes over the years.

Then, of course, there are many -- many -- sites that have real estate listings and related information. Craigslist. FranklyMLS.com. Google. HomeGain. HomesDatabase. Realtor.com. Roost. Sawbuck. Trulia. Zillow.com. (And that's just some of them.)

What sites have you found useful? Share, share!

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Real estate online
        

Burke specializes in construction defect cases.

Other condo-law attorneys see their field as a ripe one for blogging, too. There's a Northwest Condo & HOA Law Blog, for instance, and an Ontario Condo Law Blog.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Real estate online
        

You might use Google to search for a variety of things, but chances are you don't for real estate listings. Thing is, you can.

Search Engine Land, a search engine news site, notes today that Google Maps has expanded its real estate information. To take a look, throw in "Baltimore real estate" on the site, then click on the option to "Search for real estate listings near Baltimore, MD." (If you don't click that option, you'll see a map dotted with real estate companies and organizations.)

What you get isn't all you can find on the established real estate search engines. But you might find it useful:

On the map, each individual listing, whether a property for sale or rent, behaves like a business listing does in Google Maps’ business search. Users can click the red icon/dot for more information about the property; they can get directions, save the listing to My Maps, or send the listing to someone else via email, phone, car, or GPS.

I was interested to see how local listings (at least the ones Google could find) were spread out in nearly all the nooks and crannies of the area. You really can get a fuller perspective by seeing something mapped out.

I also tried searching for Baltimore real estate on Google Base. There, you can specify if you want to see properties for sale or for rent, or things that are being sublet, or even rooms for rent. Google Base tells you where it's pulling the information, so you can jump to those sites if you want to search them directly.

Thanks to the excellent Liz Kay for noticing the Search Engine Land article! Seen any other interesting housing-search options lately?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Real estate online
        

Sawbuck.com has updated its real estate information site with a nod to social media, including a news feed of home listings that's a lot like the friend status updates on Facebook. Choose Baltimore as your city of search, and you'll see this compilation of new listings and price changes. (You can see sales and contracts, too, but only if you register.)

The Sawbuck site also offers its take on housing-market health, rating Baltimore a 58 -- "Not Healthy," though closer to "Barely Healthy" (60-69) than "Deteriorating" (40-49). The scale runs from 0 to 99.

Market activity varies from neighborhood to neighborhood, of course -- that's true nationwide. How would you rate the housing-market health in your neighborhood? (I realize this is tricky because "deteriorating" in a seller's mind might be "improving" from a buyer's perspective. Hmm: Maybe choose a number from 0 to 99 with 0 being a market where buyers can get homes for nothing and 99 where sellers can successfuly demand a buyer's first-born child in exchange for accepting their offer?)

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Real estate online
        

If you're among the ranks of Twitter users, feel free to check out twitter.com/realestatewonk. And please do comment below if you often write about housing-related subjects on Twitter so I can return the favor.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Real estate online
        

In a recent post about blogs and websites focused on housing, development or local neighborhoods, I asked you all if you've run across other sites worth pointing out. Naturally, you have.

MCG suggested Change Baltimore, a new blog that opines about problems and promises future solutions.

Carson recommended the Washington Village Development Association's blog, which details efforts to clean the neighborhood -- complete with photos of trash-wrangling and of troublesome vacant properties. (WVDA has videos here.)

These Wonk readers also noted that a lot of neighborhoods have Yahoo groups where folks can keep abreast of local happenings. Not usually in the same category as muckraking sites, of course, but a potentially useful tool for residents and people thinking of moving in. Here's a list of Yahoo groups you get when you search on "Baltimore neighborhood."

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Real estate online
        

HomeGain, one of a number of real estate sites geared toward buyers and sellers, now offers Google Street View to give you a panoramic peek at what properties look like.

Here, for example, is what you get when you type in 501 N. Calvert Street, the Sun's HQ.

Google, which has been furiously photographing the world, added street views of Baltimore in November. That means you can give people a taste of your neighborhood -- or other neighborhoods in the area -- by sending them a link. Advertising and public relations firm MGH, for instance, offers this view of Hampden. Hi, Hon!

Google Street View has sparked arguments about privacy rights and safety concerns vs. "let the information flow." Where do you come down in the debate? Are its photos useful or harmful for neighborhoods? If you're an out-of-towner thinking of moving here, is Street View helpful to you?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Real estate online
        

Both Q&As this week came to pass because I happened upon (or was pointed toward) a website trumpeting an idea. It's now cheap and easy -- beyond an investment of time -- to present your point of view to the world, and some local folks are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Here are other ones I've noticed on the subject of housing, development and/or neighborhoods, in alphabetical order:

Baltimore City's Past Present and Future. A blog with photos of past and present community conditions and suggestions for improvement. For instance, on the subject of whether Westport redevelopment will do anything for the wider neighborhood, blogger Spence writes that "we'll have to knock down some barriers in order to make it an all around success." The blogger also keeps a blog about the future of Columbia.

Baltimore Grows. "Real estate, development, and life in Baltimore," as the site notes. Bloggers point readers toward Baltimore-centric news, chat about new restaurants and opine on development proposals. A ongoing poll asks, "Who's Baltimore's Best Mayor?" (Schaefer is winning by a wide margin.)

Baltimore Housing Bubble. Started in 2007, this blog was among a number nationwide that predicted big declines in home values because prices rose much faster than incomes during the earlier buying frenzy. Bloggers Kevin and Adam officially retired the site last October, but they've posted a few times since then.

baltimore john watch. Residents of Washington Village/Pigtown blog about the problem of out-of-town men who troll the neighborhood for prostitutes and sometimes bother women who are not practicing the so-called oldest profession. The bloggers want to turn things around, whether by shaming the men or getting outraged residents to lobby for more city government help. One recent post describes a john, notes his license plate number and says "it is hazardous to one's health to try to pick up respectable women as they're trying to cross the light."

Baltimore Slumlord Watch. This blog -- which says it was started "by a resident who was tired of watching out of town 'investors' and others destroy neighborhoods as a result of their negligence" -- names names, lists addresses, posts photos and tells people which council district each derelict property is in, for ease of complaining to the appropriate council member. About a boarded-up North Fulton Avenue property, the blogger writes: "The owner has seen his fair share of foreclosure hearings and housing court violations — not surprising.  We have to wonder is anyone in the city paying attention to this revolving list of names?"

What other local sites or blogs have you seen in this vein? Point me toward a bunch of other ones, and I'll make up a new list.

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Real estate online
        

He's just posted a how-to that shows home sellers a way to use a blog as a "buy my home" brochure. Launch, tweak, upload photos (lots and lots of photos), link to neighborhood restaurants and other attractions, embed map. Cost: zero dollars. (Why is he doing a how-to? Because he just put one together for his own home.)

Sellers have been turning to the Internet in greater numbers -- the tough market is the stick and cheap-or-free Web 2.0 options are the carrot. I've seen 123MainStreet.com-type sites with snazzy video walk-throughs. But for sellers or agents looking for a no-cost alternative, there's always 123MainStreet.blogspot.com (or whatever blog system you like best).

Hobby knows some people will do this as part of a "For Sale By Owner" strategy, but his house is on the multiple list -- he launched his blog-brochure as an additional resource.

Sellers: Do you have a dedicated site or blog for your home? If so, share in the comments. Buyers: Do you find these sorts of sites helpful?

Posted by Jamie Smith Hopkins at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Real estate online