I Found It on the Internet, So It Must Be Right...Right?

I applaud most of today's home buyers. Seriously.

They take the time to educate themselves, even before contacting a Realtor, making our jobs easier. They go on the internet and search diligently on Trulia and Zillow and a thousand other sites to see what is available. That way they are armed with all the information possible. By the time they contact an agent (if they do), they are aware of everything that is out there and only need access.

Right?

WRONG! The media tells us how popular sites like Trulia and Zillow are, but what they don't tell you is how inaccurate they can be.

It wasn't until I began tracking my listings on these sites that I became fully aware of the problems. 

I was marketing several homes on both sites. I have created a website for each home through a sponsoring website, which in turn submits each listing to several other large sites like Trulia and Zillow. On both of these major sites, I can set up weekly emails to my clients about the amount of traffic their house has received. Cool, huh?

However, after having all these listings set up through Trulia's free program, I noticed that suddenly it was showing the most of the listings as either sold or expired, when NONE of them were. Hmmm...I checked on my sponsoring site, but it showed all of them still active. I went back to Trulia. My only options on the listings were to delete them; nothing about renewing. I looked for a "contact us" button or a "faq" page. Nothing. 

Zillow is still showing the listings as active, however, their "Zestimate" can be very inaccurate. Hmmm, again.

I did a little test. I ran the same search for houses for sale in Florence, AL on Trulia, Zillow and on our local MLS system. Trulia came back with 21 listings based on my criteria. Same search on Zillow resulted in 24 listings. However, 4 of the listings on Trulia weren't on Zillow, and 8 of the listings on Zillow weren't on Trulia. 

Then on to the results from the local MLS site...there were 8 listings on it that weren't listed on either of the other sites. However, ALL of the combined listings from Trulia and Zillow were on the MLS, plus the extras. 

Now add on top of that, 7 of the listings from Trulia and Zillow had inaccurate information of some sort (when compared to the MLS), whether it was price, square footage, or something else. Then 3 more that appeared on Trulia and Zillow didn't match each other. At least 2 of the listings they showed as active, were in fact off the market now and have been for 2-6 months.

Confused yet?

Ultimately, this means two things.

• The most accurate and up to date information can be found on your local MLS. In my area, the public site is www.searchtheshoals.com. If you are going to educate yourself (which I think is wonderful!), don't you want to do it at the most reliable source?
• A Realtor has the means to do a more extensive search on the professional side of the MLS, helping to narrow down the results to exactly what you want. Their experience can help save you time and money during your search. 

 

I don't want to discourage people from getting information from sites like Trulia and Zillow. Really. Gather all the information you can to help you in your search. However, do be aware that the information you find may or may not be accurate. After doing your own research, then call a Realtor. Remember, just because you found it on the internet doesn't make it true!