Whether you’re moving to a new side of town or moving across the country (or beyond), getting settled in a new city can always be a little nerve-racking. Here are some of the best ways to get acquainted with your new home and make new friends. More »
iPhone/iPod touch only: The next time you’re driving around a nice neighborhood and wonder if there are any homes for sale in your price range, whip out your iPhone and check with Realtor.com to find out.
This nifty app for the iPhone and iPod touch taps directly into the listings at Realtor.com to give you all kinds of information on nearby homes for sale. You can search by town, state, zip code, price, or the amenities you’re looking for. You can even search by Multiple Listing Service (MLS) number assigned to a specific property if you happen to know it.
The app also checks your location and lets you know about any open houses going on in the area so you can scope houses from the inside out. If you want to know everything going on in the housing market in your area, save your searches and Realtor.com will email you every time there’s an open house or new listing. Be advised, the app updates every 15 minutes, so you may get a lot of alerts if you’re searching a major metropolitan area.
Each listing contains tons of information about the home for sale, including the asking price, property details, agent information, and pictures if there are any. You can view the property on a map, email it to someone else, and even contact the listing agent, all without leaving the app.
If you’re in the market for a new home, or just want to daydream about what’s out there, then this app is a good start. It’s a handy way to carry around a comprehensive overview of the housing market right in your pocket or purse.
Looking to re-arrange the stuff of your house or plan a dream room? Floorplanner is a web-based tool for planning rooms and furniture layouts using a simple but powerful editor.
We originally reviewed Floorplanner in 2007, but since then they've introduced some helpful new features. We originally dug it because of the easy drag-and-drop interface and the extensive library of furniture, fixtures, plants and more are still there. One of the principle reader complaints back then was the lack of 3D planning, but you can now plan in both 2D and 3D, switching between the views for a long view of proportion and layout. The free demo on their site doesn't allow you to save, but does give you a feel for the tools and layout—though you might be tempted to sign up, after a little Sims-style rearrangement. Or, you know, they put that PrtSc key on up there on your keyboard for a reason.
Floorplanner has a free and premium tier; the limitation on the free plan is one house or apartment floor plan. If you upgrade to Floorplanner PLUS for $27.50 a year, you can create up to five home plans.
