Best Websites for determining Home Rents

[Joseph Jones]

Can anyone recommend any websites for quickly determining what homes rent for based on city, or zip codes? The few that I have tried want to capture your info for marketing purposes. 

[Michael Boyer]

I like some of those mentioned above and others I have read on BP.. not sure about the capturing of your data... but if that is a concern, one of my favorites is to find the largest local property manager websites--often these have many comps (and may not track your data)... 

Unlike the stock market, the rental market does not capture all the transactions in a perfect way that sets a price. 

And you don't even see the actual price rented for (often just the asking, which good landlords often get if they do it right).

But be aware some newbie may post an ad with a hopelessly optimistic asking price (too high).. and some hobbyist may post an unusually low price just to keep the place full and keep busy (too low). 

That is why I like property managers doing the most business--they are often most realistic and (this is key) they often have the most knowledge about the rental market having listed and rented the most comparable properties recently... So their prices are realistic, but you still have to match comparable properties the best you can (also not perfect if no similar ones are being offered). 

But by looking at a few sources, you usually can get close. I often find very similar units listed even on the same block when a vacancy comes up, but much will depend on your facts (size of your town, type of property, size, location, etc) in whether you easily find comps...

Best of luck...