At least we got to listen to the radio while driving around. But Sweetie always chose the station.

When we bought our house, Sweetie and I spent many a day and night looking through classified ads and then driving around to various parts of various cities to see the houses that the ads promised us; after all, "3BR2BaSpcs" doesn't tell you much about the house you're getting.

The NEXT time we shop for a house, it'll be easier; the Internet is changing the way houses are bought and sold -- realtors like Homecity are doing things like posting aerial photographs, and putting slide shows and internet-virtual-reality tours of the houses they have for sale.

How's that work? Only GREAT -- check out their Austin real estate site, where they can help you buy or sell, and link to mortgage qualifiers, all while providing you photos and slideshows and tours of the houses they're selling.

As a buyer the benefits are obvious: no more wasting a whole day driving to house after house only to find out it's not for you. But as a seller, there's benefits, too -- the people who come see your house will be the ones that are definitely interested in it, because they've already had a chance to view it online and the neighborhood. Not only that, but the people who might not have been interested in "3BR2baSPCS" might choose to see your house when there's a fuller description and a virtual tour.

Homecity.com is a leader for sure in selling Austin real estate, and I can only hope they branch out to our area soon; until then, if you live in the Austin, Dallas, or Fort Worth areas, or are moving there, use Homecity.com to sell your old house or buy your new one!