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Buying a home is likely the most expensive purchase you will ever make in your life. If you plan to spend six figures or more on a single transaction, it is best to go into it with the best knowledge and information to get the best deal possible. Real estate apps can help you do this and can give you greater insight into the market where you're looking to make a purchase, so you can nab the house of your dreams. But before you go download any old real estate app, it's good to know that there are a few different types to consider: Some have a larger volume of house listings, while others are more geared toward commercial real estate and even auction properties. There's even one that can score you some discounted home-buying fees. So whether you're on an active house hunt, looking for an investment property or want to put your abode on the market, take a look below to learn more about (and download) the best real estate apps available today.


Best Overall: Zillow

Zillow is arguably the best known real estate app, and for good reason. Zillow was a pioneer in online home value estimates and tells users estimated home values, past sale prices and more for virtually every home in the United States. If you are a homeowner, you can create an account to track your estimated home value over time and insights into a potential sale price if you decide it’s time to move.

If you are looking to buy a home, you should definitely bookmark the Zillow website and download the app to your smartphone. The Zillow app lets you view home prices by location on the go and offers filters and search options to zero in on your next home.

Best for Learning About Real Estate: Bigger Pockets

Bigger Pockets offers a huge range of free resources to learn about real estate, including blog posts, podcasts, ebooks, guides and forums. The app is a gateway into the Bigger Pockets world, which is also available through the Bigger Pockets website.

You can learn a ton about buying a home that will increase in value, as well as how to do work on a property to get the best return on your investment. If you want to take your real estate game to the next level and get into real estate investing, this is the top resource on the Web.

Best For Discounted Home Buying Fees: RedFin

RedFin is both an app and a brokerage firm. The app is excellent, offering estimated home values that are sometimes more accurate than Zillow’s algorithm. One of the best features of the mobile app for anyone in an active home search is the ability to filter on upcoming open houses. While it may not lead to your next home, it does give you an idea of what homes are like in the area and what you can expect to get for your money.

The standard real estate fees for RedFin are lower than traditional agents. When selling, most homes list for 1.5 percent, and when buying, the average buyer gets a $2,000 refund back on the agent fees.


Best for Commercial Real Estate: LoopNet

Speaking of real estate investing, the best app for real estate investors may be LoopNet. This real estate app is like Zillow for bigger properties. If you want a multi-unit or commercial property, you won’t find many details on the other sites on this list. LoopNet is exclusively for property investors.

Plugging in your local area often yields a range of results for multi-unit residential and commercial office spaces. But remember that with real estate investments you don’t have to buy in your local market. You may do much better buying out of town or even out of state.

If you want to More Best Place Buying and  selling real estate Androidpowerhub

Best for Most Houses: Realtor.com

Realtor.com is, not surprisingly, the official search portal for the National Association of Realtors. One benefit of using its site is the close relationship realtors have with the Multiple Listing System (MLS) that provides data feeds used by most sites on this list. Because of the special relationship, however, Realtor.com is often updated a little faster and has a wider range of listed properties.

If you don’t yet have a real estate agent, Realtor.com makes it easy to connect with a local agent as well. Though be sure to thoroughly vet any new agent before hiring them or signing an exclusive agreement. You should shop around for both agents and homes before buying.

In other words, in your portfolio -- yes, yours -- you could own a piece of a high rise, a downtown office building, a 100-plus unit apartment complex and more.

Let's break it down.

1031 vs. 721: How the 721 can protect you

OK, so as awesome as the 1031 is, there are a few drawbacks. For one, you have a limited time period to find a new property, which could leave you in a vulnerable position from a negotiation standpoint. (A seasoned seller will smell this a mile away.)

You might not have a property available that fits your investment strategy, forcing you to either a) pay taxes, b) buy a less than stellar deal or c) overpay for one that does.

The fund hack: Diversification and high returns

Here's where investment funds come in.

They're widely available, many of them open-ended (meaning you can buy in tomorrow, next year, whenever) and you're not under the same pressure to find the perfect property.

In the past, private equity funds were generally closed to "accredited investors," a sub sector of affluent investors who -- perceive ably -- have more money and therefore must be more savvy. Basically it means you have to have a net worth of $1 million (minus your primary residence) or make $200,000 a year for the past two years.

All well and good. In reality, it really just closed off investments to those with money exclusively, allowing them to make more money.