After a year or two in the doldrums the housing market is showing signs of recovery. Experts say that in many areas prices are beginning to rise, as people who had put off moving house because of the recession begin to think longingly again about extra bedrooms or a bigger garden.

Make house buying a doddle with Internet Explorer 8 for MSN(PA Photos)

PA Photos

Still, the recession has left its mark. There are fewer houses on the market, and quality properties at a reasonable price attract considerable interest. Many are snapped up almost as soon as they appear. It's fair to say that - in the present circumstances - grabbing your dream home means exploiting all the tools at your disposal.

One of those tools should be Internet Explorer 8 optimised for MSN. For a start, it's free, and you get instant access to the MSN homepage, and all the latest property market news and views from the experts at MSN Money. And what you also get is some great downloadable add-ons that turn your browser into a powerful property finding tool. They can make sure you're one of the first to get the very latest updates about new houses for sale in your area.

Internet Explorer 8 for MSN: Get it now, free

You probably use Rightmove already (it is, after all, the UK's largest property search website). But with Internet Explorer 8 you can use Rightmove more effectively, and make searching for a property faster, smoother, and free from the nasty, niggling feeling that your dream home is being snapped up by someone else.

Use the Rightmove accelerator to find your property(Microsoft)

Microsoft

Take, for example, the Rightmove accelerator. This handy little add-on means that you can search for properties on Rightmove from wherever you are on the web, in just a few short clicks. Why is that useful? For a start, it simply makes your search faster. You don't have to visit the Rightmove site to search for property - you can do it right from your browser. Just download Internet Explorer 8 for MSN, head to the add-on gallery and grab the Rightmove accelerator. Then highlight the text (shown left), look for that special blue box and get searching!

But more than that, the Rightmove accelerator lets you highlight text in any web page, and instantly search that area on Rightmove. So let's say you're on a local news site and come across a feature about the gentrification of an up-and-coming neighbourhood.

All you have to do is highlight the name of the area on the site, and the accelerator will give you the option to search for properties in that location. It couldn't be easier.

If you're thinking of renting rather than buying, there's a Rightmove accelerator for that, too.

Use the Bing Map accelerator to check out the local area(Microsoft)

Microsoft

Some of the more general Internet Explorer 8 add-ons can also make things easier. The Bing Maps accelerator lets you instantly map any location from inside your browser (useful, because estate agents do have a habit of forgetting to mention the motorway at the bottom of the garden). Look for the place name, highlight it and look for the accelerator box and select Map with Bing (shown right).

Get it free, now: Internet Explorer 8 for MSN

And add-ons for Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites mean you can gather instant opinions from the online community about a particular town, neighbourhood or even a street.

OK, Internet Explorer 8 optimised for MSN won't bag you a dream home on its own. But it can give you a small advantage over all the other people searching for a similar house in the same areas. In an economic climate that rewards canny operators, Internet Explorer 8 optimised for MSN will make sure you are one.