State/Local Offices
Databases
SimplyAnalytics
Great to find housing prices and construction costs for a geographical area. Find rental rates, income levels and spending habits in a city. Additionally, can help you determine whether a certain area is prime for the type of housing project you are looking to start/invest in.
ReferenceUSA
This directory of millions of U.S. businesses is searchable by name, industry, location, or a combination. Also includes closed and historical businesses. This is a great tool for locating private and smaller businesses located in your area of interest.
IBISWorld Real Estate Rental & Leasing Reports
This section contains reports that have are concerned with Real Estate (in NAICS terminology the 23 & 53 sections). This will give you a great overview - if not overkill- of all industies surrounding the rental/leasing of real estate.
53111 - Apartment Rental 53112 - Commercial Leasing 53113 - Storage & Warehouse Leasing 53119 - Land Leasing 53121 - Real Estate Sales & Brokerage 53131 - Property Management 53132 - Real Estate Appraisal 53139 - Real Estate Asset Management & Consulting 23331 - Industrial Building Construction 23332a - Commercial Building Construction 23332b - Municipal Building Construction
General Housing Information
Freddie Mac
Specializes in offering information for low to middle income-level consumers. Contains information on affordable home ownership and rental housing. Site has information on buying vs. renting, educational resources, loan calculators and a walkthrough to obtaining a loan. Not only great for lower-income families looking to buy a house, but also for first-time buyers.
HSH Associates
HSH is a publisher of mortgage, real estate, financing and consumer loan information. This site contains trending data, multiple types of mortgage calculators, rate information, news and a lot more concerning the financial-side of real estate. A lot of the data found using the horizontal menu on top is freely available.
Ginnie Mae
A wholly-owned entity of the US government, Ginnie Mae helps people in the lower to middle-class income range find financing options for housing. Like aforementioned sites above, it contains information on mortgages, financing options, calculators, rental vs. buyer options etc.
Housing & Urban Development
Mainly known as a clearinhouse for property and real estate, this site has information about agencies and groups that focus on small businesses and lower income. Make use of the 'State' tab at top to get information on localized HUD offices and programs.
MLS
Multiple Listing System will find real estate buying opportunities in any location. This site will have listings that are made through realtors, but also has listings that are done directly by the owner. These latter listings may not be available through other commercial sites and may not be publicly known.
Realtor.com
Once you get past the commercial aspects of this site, it is a 'must see' for any potential homebuyer.
Zillow
At first glance this appears like any other realty site. However, the Market Reports under the Local Info tab and the Zillow Research under the More tab contain a lot of free housing statistics.
Great Schools.org
If you are moving and have a family, one major consideration is the school system. This site will provide ratings of schools within an area. Several of the realty sites use these rating when listing nearby schools to the home you are looking to buy.
Alabama Real Estate
Alabama Center for Real Estate
Housed within the University of Alabama's Culverhouse College of Commerce, ACRE collects, maintains and analyzes the state’s real estate statistics. Search through housing statistics and read trend reports in real estate.
Alabama Real Estate Commission
Everything you wanted to know about obtaining or renewing a real estate license in the state of Alabama. Contains educational material, some practice exams, realtor verification, realtor location, FAQ etc. Great for anyone looking to get a real estate license.
Alabama Association of Realtors
Website inlcudes public policy advocacy, professional and licensed-related education. Less a data-driven site and more an informational portal for current and would-be realtors and real estate developers.
Federal Housing Finance Agency
Look at the Data & Tools section for obtaining statistics on mortgages and real estate loans in the U.S. Additionally, there are a ton of freely available reports.
Alabama Housing Finance Authority
The Alabama Housing Finance Authority (AHFA) is a public corporation and agency of the State of Alabama created to serve the housing needs of low- and moderate-income Alabama residents. AHFA creates Alabama housing opportunities with affordable financing of single- and multi-family housing loans.
Commercial Websites
Emporis
A global provider of building information of all construction types including over 580,000 photographic images of buldings located globally. Data is collected by their editorial Community, data researchers and public records and is used primarily by industry professionals and people with an interest in buildings and urban habitat.
CBRE
Formally known as CB Richard Ellis, this site is primarily a consumer/fee-based site, but it contains a lot of free reports and trend analysis.
CCIM Institute
A professional association focusing on commercial and investment real estate education and services. Has a lot of free information available to users without having to subscribe to the service.
National Association of Realtors
The professional organization for the real estate community. Contains free reports and information.
Cushman & Wakefield
Commercial real estate company that offers services ranging from investing, financing, leasing, locating and building commercial properties. The Research page offers you free global reports on the commercial real estate market.
42 Floors
Commercial real estate listing site with information on rents, sizes, occupancy, construction date and many other variables that can help you get informed about the commercial RE prospects in an area. Data can be downloaded into Excel for further analysis.
***Here is a shortcut to changing the state. See the 'al' outlined in red below. Enter the abbreviation for the state you are interested (NY, LA, CA, MT etc) in place of the 'al' and you'll go to that states page.***
