Best sites for properties for sale

newbuyer6, those sources really cover just about everything that's out there. I know Property Shark and Curbed are rolling out search tools as well, but I can't imagine they'll be any better in the short term at least. Good luck!

Whether you're in research / learning mode, or seriously ready to take the plunge, the Times, Craigslist, and StreetEasy should be MORE than adequate. The Times has the best information, and, due to the relatively high cost of placing an online ad, will have less "clutter" to wade through than Craigslist. Craigslist will have more listings - due to the low / no advertising costs - but will have more garbage to sort through. Both the Times and Craigslist, unlike StreetEasy, have FSBO listings - though again, because of the cost, the Times will have a higher percentage of broker listings.

You can find other sites, but why bother? If 99% + of the available listings can be found on the "big three", that should be good enough. If I want to buy or sell something online, I'm going to Ebay, even though there are other online auction sites.

A related issue is that when the time is right, will you want to work on your own or use a buyer broker (multiple StreetEasy threads can be found on this very LIVELY topic). Independent types may prefer to do their own - though very time-consuming - apartment research, as well as price negotiation and overall management of the transaction. Others, with less time, interest, or aptitude, may prefer working with a bb.

Re buying in NY in general, aside from the issue of listings, I'm assuming you have / are educating yourself to the Co-op / Condo question. Buying a Condo here is like buying a Condo anywhere - just a lot more expensive. Buying a Co-op, though much more affordable, brings up a whole host of financial / qualification / lifestyle issues.

newbuyer6, I would also visit the major broker sites. Most of what is on these sites will be found on streeteasy and NYTimes.com, but I personally find these sites a better overall user experience. Here are a couple to begin with:

www.corcoran.com
www.halstead.com
www.prudentialelliman.com

Good luck and have fun.

As someone who works for a small neighborhood brokerage (we're based in Chelsea, and I do Tribeca/SoHo/Village as well) I would point to you nytimes.com. The Corcoran site is the easiest to use, but it's only going to have Corcoran's listings. Streeteasy gets more comprehensive over time, but I still have to update my listings here by hand.

By contrast, the Times site will update automatically from the shared brokers' database. And whenever our firm (or any of the other small firms that cover other neighborhoods) get a listing, we're going to put it on the Times site, so if you're not using an agent, that's the easiest place for you to find it.

Also, you might find my own personal site helpful with general real estate questions -- it's basically a searchable wiki of a couple years' worth of real estate questions and answers: www.frontporchllc.com

good luck!

ali r.
{downtown broker}

To JuiceMan's list I would add www.bhsusa.com, the last of the big 4 (same owners as Halstead). I agree the 3 searches you're doing have you covered, but a comprenseive search of broker sites, large and small, may not be a bad idea every once in a while. Check out the "Big Brokerage List" at www.curbed.com. In general, Curbed is a tremendous resource. It's humor-oriented, but don't let that fool you; the link to various other sources of information are very valuable.

First post from the iPhone. StreetEasy works very well with the Safari browser.

Keep life simple. Set a streeteasy search(es) that will email you whenever there is a new listing matching your parameters or a change to a listing in any of your "saved buildings." Then search the NYTimes on Wednesdays when new listings are due (I think it is Wednesday) for those wishing to have the listing published in the Sunday Times. That will cover virtually everything. FSBO listings will be missed if not in the NYT, but I find Craigslist to be utterly unusable because of the amount of noise on there--too many fake listings, bate-and-switch ads, crazy people. I didn't find it worth the effort.

Extremely important: Become a streeteasy "insider" for $10/month. That way you can quickly and easily get comps for all sales in the past couple of years in any given building and quickly link through to ACRIS (the NYC database) to learn what you can from filing documents (names of prior owners of a unit, current owner, where that owner now lives. You don't need to be an insider to access ACRIS, but I just find it easier to link through from streeteasy. ACRIS info can be used advantageously. For example, you see a unit you like. The more you learn about the owner's situation, the more you'll know how to negotiate effectively. ACRIS can help you figure out if the current owner just purchased a new apartment--that will mean they are carrying two apts at once and are likely very anxious to sell quickly. Is the unit an estate sale--those are great for giving buyer's leverage. You can learn if the unit was owned by a couple but only one of them now--search the missing person's name and learn they are divorced, or widowed. Whatever info you gleen from searching a seller's name back in time and forward in time (what they owned prior to this apt and currently in addition to this apt) will potentially be helpful.

I think that the nytimes real estate and www.natefind.com have the best listings. NAtefind gives the best info on time on market of each property as well as price increases/decreases

One additional thought is that unfortunately, the computer systems still don't sync up well, so as you get further along in the buying process, you're going to want to search for listings in several ways.

As an example, let's say as you house-hunt you decide that you want to live in the Orion, a building with over 600 units.

Streeteasy will tell you that there are 40 listings of which 12 are in contract; the Times will show you 31 listings, and you have to go through them to see what's in contract; and the system that the brokers use shows 48 listings, of which 15 are in contract.

So how many apartments are available for sale in the Orion? 28? 31? 33?

To make things more complicated, there are also "pocket" listings that aren't on ANY computer system. For example, there's an owner of a 2-bedroom in the Orion who has let it be known that he wants to sell his apartment himself -- what we call a FSBO -- but that he would pay a buyer's broker for bringing him a customer.

Currently this owner hasn't listed with on either streeteasy OR the Times, so you wouldn't catch him on any of the above searches, but that apartment is still "inventory" as far as I'm concerned.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

Speaking from experience, StreetEasy is the best place to see an aggregate view of the listings. I know that StreetEasy gets the detail directly from the brokerages and new developments and posts status changes as they happen. Seeing the listing "history" and time on market and how many brokers have recently listed the property is amazing- you get the real story. If you want more info you can link directly to the listing on the broker's site for further detail. I have set alerts and found out about listings before some broker friends knew they were on the market! As an "Insider" I can easily gauge whether a property is priced right or not. True, no FSBO's or Open listings but you can sift through the Times to catch that set. Happy hunting!

Wow - thanks all for you help. I've now got plenty of sites to check out. I have done some research on the broker system and also co-op vs condo. All interesting issues in this market. If anyone needs advice on the Australian market I can probably help out there!