(www.kbennett.com) There is no question that online searching for real estate has been increasing. The last stat I came across indicated that nearly 95% of real estate buyers start their property search online. I can tell you in our Coeur d'Alene Idaho Real Estate Practice we have invested plenty of time and resources to help our buyers find just the right home in North Idaho. While the Internet has its limitations when used properly it can yield great results and give Buyers that extra bit of market knowledge that will make the home buying process smoother. First -- Keep it Simple. When constructing your initial home search start off with just the basics. Price, square footage, bedroom/bathroom needs. If you construct the search with just these basics you should net the most results. If your search generates way too many options you can always add parameters to narrow the search to a more manageable number. In the end I would rather get to look at a larger number homes than to not see some that would have been perfect. I have worked with home buyers in the past who have gotten frustrated with the limited number of homes that show up in their online search. Many times this is because they included too many parameters and once we more clearly identify their needs vs. wants we can cast a much wider net. You will note that on the Coeur d'Alene Real Estate Search Engine we created at www.kbennett.com -- we kept the number of options to just the basics so that our buyers and sellers get a better understanding of what is available in North Idaho. Second -- Keep an Open Mind -- This tip goes hand in hand with the first. Buyer's need to understand the essential criteria for their next home and what items would be a bonus. For instance in North Idaho we get quite a few buyers that would like a shop. If they build "Shop" into their online search they may very well miss the perfect home because it does not currently have a shop. I would modify the search to lo0k for a large enough lot to accommodate a shop should one not already exist. Third -- Engaging the Professional -- We understand that the whole appeal to online searching is the confidentiality of the experience and the dream like aspect of searching for your next home. Engage a professional as your get closer to your actual move or if you are planning on previewing some of the results you found online. We As REALTORS have extensive knowledge of the area and access to the local Multiple Listing Service which allows us, with literally hundreds of search parameters, the ability to really drill down and generate a list of properties for your consideration.