There are many, many sites out there for finding all kinds of things, especially in metropolitan areas. They don't all have their own unique listings, though. Some of these sites crawl (copy listings from) others, and some are just plain useless. It takes some time to find which ones are the gems, but there is a method to it.

(Examples sited below are for apartment listings)

• Make sure the site has relevant results - Some sites simply don't offer hardly any results for specific types of searches. One site may list many houses and condos for sale, but offers very little for rent. Sites such as this are useless when your task is to find rentals. This could be a great site, however, for someone looking to buy.


• Compare listings - See if the site has listings that can't be found elsewhere (not on the major sites which are on the first page of results, anyway). If pretty much all their listings can be found elsewhere, the site is not worth your time.


• Exclusivity - There are some more established sites (like Westsiderentals.com) which do have some exclusive listings for large apartment buildings. You want to find which sites do have that kind of exclusivity for certain buildings and/or neighborhoods. These sites will be valuable to you, as you won't be able to find those exclusive listings elsewhere.


• Established Niche - Some sites have an established niche over which they dominate (NYBits is a good example for no-fee rental listings in NYC). These sites will be indispensable when you have a tough-to-find request within a certain neighborhood that such a site actually covers.