Ok, I will admit it. I went to college before computers where required. If I had to write a paper, I borrowed my roommate’s word processor.  Any research I had to do was pulled during many painstaking hours at the campus library.  I don’t remember using email or “surfing the net” until my senior year of college.

How our world has been transformed in 15 years.  If I had to sum it up, I think I’d use the lyrics to the Black Eyed Peas hit song “Now Generation: “What is it that we want now? Information– plain and simple.”

We don’t want to wait to find answers. Thanks to the fast access of Smartphones, we can literally find answers to anything we want in seconds regardless of where we are, and regardless of our generation.

Until recently there was one exception to the “instant answers” for home sellers and buyers in Upstate of South Carolina. They were unable to find information on recently sold data. Of course, consumers in the Upstate could see active properties but until now, sold data was only available through public records searches, some national search engines, or a Realtor. The savviest of shoppers may have even figured out how to research when the house was purchased by the current owners and at what price.  That information, however, was typically several years old, and no longer relevant.

So why is the availability of recent sold data so important? For the homebuyer, it helps them determine if a home is in their price range and what homes are selling for in their desired neighborhood. For sellers, it adds accuracy in determining how much a property is worth.  For investors, it can help determine the cash flow potential of a neighborhood.

Having this information empowers consumers to make better financial decisions, but it  certainly does not replace the need for a Realtor®. Only your realtor can help you understand why a property sold. Now more than ever, consumers need the expertise of an agent not just for more effective negotiations but their role from point of contract to the closing table.

Sold data can be found on Allentate.com and may also be viewed on a map via Allen Tate’s interactive search feature, TateMap. To access data, consumers should select the TateMap Search option under Property Search, navigate to a desired area and enter search criteria. Center on any red pin, which will display an information box with property details. From this box, select “Click Here for Map with Recent Sales.” Recently sold properties (up to 50) will appear as grey pins.

By Amanda Serra