[dennis in se pa]

"When moving to a new area, I would strongly recommend renting for a while before committing to buying."

Absolutely. Save yourself from making a $300,000 mistake.

When you do buy filter through the agents who, as mentioned above, are working for you as a buyer's agent but still have their own best interests at heart. Real estate agents are like most people. No better nor worse. Most will be looking out for themselves before you. Talk to enough until you find one you trust.

Good luck.