DATA SOURCES FOR REAL ESTATE APPRAISER RELATED INFORMATION

For your convenience, Focused Learning has compiled a list of over 500 websites and references to assist you with real estate related research throughout the United States.

The following descriptions let you know if the information is:

Free — Information provided to the public at no charge.

$ — Subscription services and other information available for a fee

DISCLAIMER: Public information changes over time including links to various organizations. Therefore, this information is subject to change. Focused Learning has no control, responsibility, or liability regarding the websites, ownership, names, organizations, prices, and other information listed.

Please use your own discretion when accessing an internet website.

SEARCH ENGINES

America Online
Various topics regarding real estate. $
eBay
(on the search toolbar, highlight Real Estate) Choose from commercial, land, manufactured homes, residential, time shares, and other real estate, which might include foreclosures, cabins, churches, rentals, and/or even a town). The choices change daily. $
Craigs List
(find your state and area) - Search for listings, rentals, etc. Free
Google
Offers a wide variety of information on various topics. No real estate section at the time of this course development. Free
Microsoft
Variety of information relating to real estate and other topics. Free
Yahoo!
Investment section for stocks leading to REITs and financial filings to SEC. Free - $

LOCAL SOURCES OF REAL ESTATE DATA

  • Board of Realtors®
  • Tax Assessing Offices
  • Courthouse records
  • Credit Bureaus
  • Tax Map Companies
  • University Research Centers
  • Private Data Sources
  • Property Management Companies
  • Property Owners
  • Local newspapers - Your local newspapers and free publications that you might find at grocery stores, pharmacies, and other retail establishments may include homes for sale or rent that will assist you in your search for data.

NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS

Top 10 national newspapers based on circulation with sections dedicated to real estate activities, listings, sales, development, and other information.
  1. USA Today
  2. Wall Street Journal
  3. New York Times
  4. Los Angeles Times
  5. Washington Post
  6. New York Daily News
  7. Chicago Tribune
  8. New York Post
  9. Long Island Newsday
  10. Houston Chronicle

OTHER GREAT SITES FOR APPRAISERS

About.com
Geography, maps, etc. Free
ADFINET
Guides and other lending regulations utilized by many mortgage companies' compliance departments. Free
Apartment Guide
Search page for apartments that meet your criteria, with photos, floor plans, etc. Free - $
Briefing.com
Provides independent, live market analysis of the U.S. and international equity markets. $
Courthousedirect.com
Deed records from the court house. $
Municode
Municipal codes for the whole country. Free - $
Ordinance.com
Land use information for 3000 cities online. Free - $
Real Data Software
Real estate investment analysis software. $
Realty Rates
Investor survey information for of all property types including national trends, specific info by location. Free - $
REIS
Economic studies, rents, and vacancies updated quarterly. Free - $
REIT.com
National Association of REIT s Free - $
Right of Way
Private site of Allen, Williford, & Seale with great resource links to other sites relating to Right of Way issues. Free - $

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

Appraisal Foundation
Authorized by Congress, this not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of professional valuation of real estate from which Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) originates. They are the source for appraisal standards, appraiser qualifications, and ethical conduct to protect the public trust in the valuation profession. Free - $
Appraisal Institute
International real estate appraisal organization with over 25,000 members and 91 chapters throughout the world. Its mission is to advance professionalism and ethics, global standards, methodologies, and practices through the professional development of property economics. Various information is available including education, news, and articles searches for their members through the Lum Library. Free - $
Archive of Census-Related Products
Is a collection of geo-referenced data files containing census information that spans the United States and its territories. Free
Building Owners and Managers Association
Primary source of commercial real estate information and network of professionals involved with office building development, leasing, building operating costs, energy consumption patterns, local and national building codes, legislation, occupancy statistics and technological developments. Features advocacy, education, conferences, news, and membership information. $
CoopersPriceWaterhouse
Offers variety of global publications. Select USA from list and search for desired topic. Free
CoStar
Provides commercial real estate property information to investors, appraisers, consultants, and sales professionals in the United States and United Kingdom including office, retail, industrial, commercial land, multi-family, mixed- use properties, and hospitality. Their comprehensive database includes commercial real estate for sale, property for lease, verified comparable sales transactions, and tenant information. Appraisers can request and purchase specific information on certain property types or addresses. Call customer service for more information. $
Cushman Wakefield
Offers variety of reports including global research, financial, and business as well as multimedia presentations and property listings. Free
For Rent Magazine
Offers a daily database of over 50,000 apartment listings nationwide. While searching apartments, you can view photos, floor plans, videos, rental rates, maps, and community information. Free - $
Institute or Real Estate Management
An affiliate of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), IREM has provided education, resources, information, and membership for real estate management professionals for over 75 years. With over 90 chapters worldwide, IREM serves the multi-family and commercial real estate sectors. $
Integra Realty Resources
Private appraisal firm that offers annual national data on various commercial property types. Free (After registration)
LoopNet
Provides commercial real estate information services with a variety of products and services tailored to the national and local needs of the commercial investments industry. Listings available include commercial categories such as commercial office space for lease and for sale, hotels and motels, multifamily apartments, retail space and land for sale. LoopNet also attracts a large community of commercial real estate brokers, appraisers and other professionals to its resource of commercial real estate news and property listings. $
NACO
Provides extensive services including legislative, research, technical, and public affairs assistance, as well as enterprise services to its members. Free - $
National Association of Realtors
® offers a large variety of information such as housing statistics, economic indicators and forecasts, local market reports, and local data with interactive maps. Free - $
National Fire Protection Association
Publishes safety codes adopted by many cities. Free
Population Reference Bureau
The Population Reference Bureau informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and future generations. Free
RAND Center for the Study of Aging
Conducts objective, independent, behavioral research on the elderly population. Free
Real Capital Analytics, Inc.
Global research and consulting firm focused exclusively on the investment market for commercial real estate. In addition to collecting transactional information for current property sales and financings, RCA analyzes and interprets the data, providing valuable insight on commercial real estate investment. As a result of their research, they publish the widely-read report Capital Trends Monthly®, which is quoted regularly in industry news and reviewed by many segments of the real estate community including buyers, developers, brokers, and lenders.$
STR Global
Offers monthly, weekly, and daily STAR benchmarking reports tracking performance trends such as occupancy, average daily rate, and RevPAR1 to more than 38,000 hotel clients, representing nearly 5 million rooms worldwide in over 1,300 markets. $
1 Revenue Per Available Room - RevPAR is an operation calculation in the hotel/motel industry. RevPAR is calculated by multiplying a hotel's average daily room rate (ADR) by its occupancy rate or by dividing room revenue by the room count and the number of days in the period being measured. RevPAR does not include revenue from other income such as restaurants, telephone, vending machines, laundry, spas, golf courses, marinas, casinos etc.
Urban Land Institute
Provides responsible leadership in land use nationwide. The ULI features events, news, publications and membership information. ULI initiates research that anticipates emerging land use trends and issues, proposing creative solutions based on that research. ULI documents best practice and publishes books to impart cumulative knowledge to help the development community continuously improve its performance. $

MOST POPULAR UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
A division of the Department of Commerce which offers useful statistical information.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Census Bureau
Serves as the leading source of quality data about the people and economy of the United States. Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau includes the Population and Housing Census, the Economic Census, the American Community Survey, Economic Indicators, and other demographic and economic surveys.
Economic Research Service
Primary source of economic information and research in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ERS conducts a research program to inform public and private decision making on economic and policy issues involving food, farming, natural resources, and rural development.
Farm Service Agency
Economic Policy Analysis division (EPA) provides information pertaining to supply, demand, price, incoming, participation rates, and outlay estimates/projections. Also, the Aerial Photography Field Office (APFO) is the primary source of aerial imagery for the United States Department of Agriculture with over 10,000,000 images available.
Forest Service
Forest Inventory and Analysis reports on status and trends in forest area and location; in the species, size, and health of trees; in total tree growth, mortality, and removals by harvest; in wood production and utilization rates by various products; and in forest land ownership.
National Agricultural Library
Provides access to ongoing and recently completed USDA-sponsored research and education projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Provides expertise in soil science and soil surveys for the National Resources Inventory (NRI) which assesses natural resource conditions and trends in the United States. NRI compiles statistical surveys of land use, natural resource conditions, and trends on U.S. non-Federal lands.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Basic information about the White House activity as well as links to other departments that related to the economic, defense, education, etc.
Rural Development
Offers Rural Development Housing & Community Facilities Programs for single and multi-family projects throughout the United States. Works with private lenders to guarantee loans to borrowers for the construction of multi-family housing units; community facilities; and individual homes.
Department of Labor (DOL)
Has an abundance of statistical information available regarding employment statistics.

OTHER U.S. GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

INDEPENDENT AGENCIES OF U.S. GOVERNMENT

BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, AND COMMITTEES

UNIVERSITIES AND RESEARCH CENTERS

STATE INFORMATION

Note: This list is a brief list of Regional Councils of Governments & Metropolitan Planning Organizations and other information. Most states have state a demographer website with forecasts of future population and employment by county. An search of "state demographer - (identify state)" will usually provide this website.

ALABAMA

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

STATE OF CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

Washington D.C.

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

HAWAII

IDAHO

Bannock Planning Organization Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho SICOG-Southeast Idaho Council of Governments

ILLINOIS

IOWA

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

MAINE

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSOURI

NEBRASKA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

NORTH CAROLINA

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

OKLAHOMA

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH CAROLINA

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

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