Is Zillow Really the Best Search Site?

Zillow is by far one of the top search sites for real estate these days but is it really the best search site?  

I have buyers on a regular basis email me about a listing they found there. When I look it up, many times I find it is not yet for sale or it is already sold.  A blogger that I follow from St. Paul, MN (Teresa Boardman) recently did an little comparison for her area on Zillow verses her MLS and I decided to do the same comparison for my local area of El Dorado Hills.

I searched for single family homes for sale on Zillow, our local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and my company website and here's what I found:

168 listings found and 3 unmapped (whatever that means)

     195 listings found - this includes foreclosures that are listed.

195 listings found (and our site doesn't show any we can't show you - ie.pending)  Listings are pulled directly from the MLS to our websites.

Zillow may show foreclosures and pre-foreclosures on their site but until they say "for sale" the banks are in total control as to when they will release them for sale. When they do decide to release them, they will be listed on the MLS.

According to the figures above you are only seeing 88% of available homes on a Zillow search. So if you are trying to find a home and looking to find all the listings out there, is Zillow the best search site?

Feel free to search for real estate throughout the Sacramento Valley on my website.  There you can search by address, city, zipcode, MLS#, property type or map.  You'll also find a mobile app there for searching on the go.