Explore the websites of national real estate firms Coldwell Banker and Century21. Learn how the sites are set up and the information they contain. Find some listings in your local area or in an area in which you would like to live and utilize all the features of the site to find out more about them.
Narrow your focus to one listing and find out the following:
1. What type of property is the listing?
2. What is the listed price?
3. What factors play a role in the pricing?
4. What are the characteristics of the neighborhood? Specifically, using the tools of the websites, find out the ratio of home ownership to renting, crime rates and types of crime, median income, median age, and public schools.
Now explore the website of BuyOwner.com, one of the more popular for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) websites. Search for similar information that you saw on the national real estate company websites. Compare the information available on the two types of website.