Investment Property Search Engine: A Quick Guide to Finding the Best Properties

Awning provides investors with a way to search MLS properties on the open market complete with long term and vacation rental analysis. Investors can browse by cap rates, cash flow, renovation costs, and cash-on-cash returns to find the best deals across the country. 

What Awning Property Search Is

Awning property search is a tool for investors that allows them to find and analyze real estate investment deals for long-term and vacation rentals. Property search is available in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

Investors don’t need an account and there is no cost associated with using the free investment property search tools built by Awning.

How Awning Property Search Works

Awning property search pulls properties directly from the MLS and an algorithm analyzes the properties. Top investments are reviewed by our team of analysts and updated to reflect more accurate estimates. 

Investors can make adjustments to all of the estimates directly on the listing page or to all search results by signing in and selecting “Calculator Settings” from the drop down on the profile menu in the top-right corner of the screen.

Awning property search does not include off-market deals and there is no way for owners, investors, or agents to list or promote properties directly on Awning.

Filtering Awning Property Search

Filtering properties is the key to getting the most out of Awning property search.

The first toggle you’ll notice is Traditional vs Vacation:

• Traditional: Long-term rentals with 1-year or longer lease.
• Vacation: Short-term rentals through platforms like Airbnb and VRBO.

Switching this toggle does not change the properties that you see. All it changes is the type of analysis that the properties go through. 

Additional filters visible on the search page include:

• Price
• Bedrooms
• Bathrooms
• Home Type
• Year Built
• Cap Rate

These filters will help you eliminate some properties and narrow down your search.

If you click on “More Filters” you’ll find additional criteria to narrow down properties:

• Featured: Featured listings are very rarely selected by our analyst team as very hot properties that will sell in a matter of days. There are often no properties that are featured in a specific market.
• Expert Reviewed: Listings reviewed by our analysts for accurate tax, renovation, and rental costs.

Additional filters you can use include:

• Sq. Ft
• Lot Size
• Home Type
• Max HOA fee
• Pool
• Keywords in the Listing
• Cash on Cash Return
• Appreciation Projection
• Monthly Revenue
• Neighborhood Score
• School Score
• Renovations
• Days on Market

Once you’ve narrowed down your search, you can start to order your results. 

With Awning investment property search you can order your results by:

• Date listed
• Price
• Cap rate
• 10-Year return
• Year built
• Property Square Footage
• Lot Size

If you include too many filters you may end up seeing no results. In that case it’s best to speak to an Awning agent about having our team look for listings on your behalf and let you know when they come on the market. 

Browsing the Property Search Map

While you need to scroll through multiple pages to see all of the properties in a market, the map shows you every single property that’s available. You can use it to narrow down your search geographically, which is especially useful if you’re looking for a location near a specific tourist attraction. You can also change the data displayed on the map for each listing by changing the dropdown menu that’s preset to price.

The Awning investment property search map can display:

• Price
• Cap Rate
• 10-year Return

Looking at the map is also a great way to understand a neighborhood. If you see cap rates drop off from one street to the next, it could mean that the neighborhood, schools, or walkability scores are changing quickly. It will also help you understand how properties are priced relative to comparable homes nearby.

Property Cards and Property Interactions

Every property card that’s displayed has the option of rejecting or liking the property. Not only will this prevent you from seeing the same property multiple times, but it can help you save properties for further analysis.

When you click into a property page you’ll notice there are a series of graphs and tables that can help you analyze the investment. You can toggle between vacation and long-term rentals to see how the property would perform for different use cases. You can also go in and change any of the assumptions, like the mortgage rate or property management fee, which will change the calculations and tables for the listings.

Takeaway

Awning property search is a great way to analyze on-market properties for both their short-term and long-term rental potential. You can search for specific markets, filter results, and apply your own assumptions to the properties you select.