6 Real Estate Apps for Finding a New Home

By Jerry Kronenberg

That cool new smartphone you got this holiday season can help you find a cool new place to live if you're planning on going house-hunting in 2013.

That's because real estate firms, listing services, mortgage companies and more have thousands of free smartphone apps available to help you find your piece of the American Dream.

"There are a number of different apps that can show you what houses are for sale or what's previously sold near wherever you happen to be," says Daniel Terdiman, a senior writer at electronics-review site CNET.com who's using mobile apps in his family's search for a San Francisco-area home.

Related: Homes for Sale in Your Area

Terdiman says good house-hunting apps use your smartphone's global-positioning system to figure out where you are, then provide a wealth of information about nearby listings.

"These apps are definitely a good thing to have when we're out and about looking at houses," he says. "It's like filling in the gaps of things you can't know about a listing because you're not near a computer."

Here's a look at six free smartphone apps that anyone who's looking for a new pad should definitely check out:

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