Housing Sites

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has also made e-commerce work for the agency. Public housing is HUD's business, and the agency has created an online realty store, where people can come to shop for and bid on HUD-owned homes.

Buyers can find homes listed by state and city by clicking on the HUD home page's "Own a Home." For example, clicking on Maryland and then checking Annapolis will pull up five homes, including a four-bedroom, two-and-half bath house on 607 Shipjack Court with a list price of $118,000.

At the HUD site, consumers may subscribe to regular e-mail listings of HUD, Department of Veterans Affairs and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. homes that come up for sale. The site will become even more interactive in July, when HUD will offer online applications for all HUD grants. HUD offers grants to counter drug abuse in public housing, to rehabilitate housing projects and to subsidize the health care, meals and other support services of low-income elderly people living in public housing.

The site also serves as a portal, linking users to other sites that offer homes for sale, such as Fannie Mae, the FDIC and the General Services Administration.