Top 10 Real Estate News Websites
It can be surprisingly difficult to find timely and accurate real estate news, especially if you’re looking for accurate local data specific to your property. Most of the major news sites (and we won’t name names) focus on the sensational, a celebrity’s home sale, a shocking statement about how the economy could impact the real estate market next.
I’ve been licensed since 2003, and since then have kept my eye out for good local and national sources of real estate news. The task hasn’t been easy, but over the years I’ve found a number of reliable, or at least interesting sources. Today I’m going to share my top list with you. I’m going to break it down into national and local sites, with a few bonus tips at the end.
Top 10 National Real Estate News Websites
1. NAR.Realtor/Research-and-Statistics
National Associations Chief Economist Lawrence Yun is phenomenal. Whatever he says, I’ve learned to trust. He is my most trusted source of national real estate market information. The site above often contains Yun’s commentary, but also includes a wealth of information in helpful indexes and market snapshots.
2. Inman.com (Paywalled)
This would be one of my top rated national sites if nearly all of its articles weren’t placed behind a fairly pricey paywall. The site is focused on a real estate audience, but contains a lot of important articles on the market.
3. Realtor.com – Research
Realtor.com produces a wide range of industry reports and local insights that can be very valuable.
4. HousingWire.com (Partially Paywalled)
This site is written to a mortgage broker audience and has a focus on real estate loans. It also includes well-written, insightful articles on the real estate market that are unfortunately often behind a paywall.
5. RealEstateNews.com
Fairly new to the scene, but I find myself checking their site often. The site continues to improve at a rapid pace and, as of yet, doesn’t have any of its articles behind a paywall.
6. Zillow.com – Research
Real estate agents typically are not fans of Zillow, and trust me there are good reasons for this. However, they do put out solid research out there and occasionally write unique reports no one else had though to create.
7. RisMedia.com
This site is also focused on a real estate audience and has the occasional useful real estate market article. It is not updated that often, I would likely follow it more often if it was.
8. Redfin.com Data Center
Real estate agents are also typically not fans of Redfin, unless they are with Redfin already. But like Zillow, they have put out some good research reports. However, be careful with their research reports as many of them stem from Redfin’s data. This means their report is true as it pertains to and is drawn from Redfin’s own business data, but might not be true across the board for the rest of the industry.
9. CNBC – Real Estate
Perhaps the best of the worst. The worst being defined as major news portals’ attempts at covering the real estate market.
10. Forbes – Real Estate
Mostly garbage. Articles about this or that mega mansion that sold, mixed in with the occasionally well-researched industry article. The quality of content at Forbes has dropped over the years in favor of clickbait.
Bonus National Information to Follow:
Census.gov Housing Vacancies and Homeownership Reports
Massive database going back multiple decades and consistently updated.
FRED Economic Data, 30 Year Fixed Rate Chart
The best source for average mortgage rates.
Top Portland, Oregon Metro Real Estate News Sources
1. BizJournals.com Portland Real Estate News
This news source stays pretty up-to-date often blogging multiple times a week on issues that face the Portland real estate market, covering a range of topics.
2. City of Portland Housing Bureau News Blog
This site gives important information on all those bonds they’ve been passing, as well as future local housing initiatives, and the occasional insightful local housing report.
3. RealEstateAgentPDX.com – Real Estate Blog
Okay, you’re here already. But I’d highly encourage you to take two steps. One, sign up for our free bi-weekly email digest. Two, check out our long list of real estate news categories and bookmark the subjects that interests you most.
4. Portland Monthly – Home and Real Estate
They write a lot of sensational pieces about local mega-mansions new on the market, which I’m not crazy about, but they also create the occasional interesting real estate article or local real estate map.
Bonus Local Information to Follow:
NAR.Realtor local market report.
Click the link, then scroll down to Oregon, open that, and there will be a current Portland Metro PDF available to download.
This isn’t updated often, but contains valuable information on local affordable housing efforts.
Census.gov Portland, Oregon Fact Table
Is population rising or falling? You can check by city, county, even zip code. Very few things impact a local real estate more than its growing or declining population base.
Well-written, well-researched blog full of helpful local information.
Economic and Revenue Forecasts by Oregon Economic Analysis.
This is an important page to follow to understand where the local economy is headed.
PortlandMaps.com – Gallery of Maps
Hard to say enough good things about Portlandmaps.com. Put in any address for a wealth of information, for starters. I particularly love their gallery of maps (which does seem to change overtime). These maps give wonderful insights into our local city from a number of different angles.
Fantastic site (with a clickable map) to learn about upcoming real estate projects in development in Portland, Oregon.
Okay, I know I’ve plugged this site more than once, but there is a reason I created it. This home (and commercial) search site crunches data in a way that is hard to find elsewhere, and in some cases I believe can’t be found anywhere else. In addition to normal filters like price and bedroom count, we have a filter overlay that crunches some unique numbers. Give it a try.
This is another (and final) site I’ve plugged many times. The clickable neighborhood map is hard to beat, and the individualized neighborhood guides are pretty in-depth.
Work with a Local Real Estate Expert
If you’re thinking of selling a home in the next twelve months, myself or one of my top 1% sellers agents would love to schedule a time to tour your home and help you prepare for market. If you’re considering buying a home in the greater Portland metro area, my top 1% buyers agents are here to help. Give us a call at 503-714-1111 or chat with the bot on this site today. We look forward to connecting!
