Why You Should Avoid Zillow at All Costs
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Why You Should Avoid Zillow at all Costs....and Trulia and Realtor.com...etcIn a society obsessed with technology and social media, we are bombarded by loads of content. Today, anybody can post information online and just because something’s popular doesn’t mean it’s accurate. Now more than ever, we need to be very conscious of where our information comes from. Does the founder of this website have a motive for posting certain content? What is the real reason this website exists?
The voice on the other end of the line sounded exhausted, “You’re the 20th Realtor to call me in the past hour. Please stop calling.” Not exactly the type of response I was hoping for when following up on these “hot leads”. I instantly felt guilty and apologized. The image below shows that the potential buyer was interested in talking to somebody about the property and did inquire about it. Little did he know he’d get dozens of calls from multiple agents over the next week.
I understand sales jobs are competitive and finding good leads is key to survival, but was this even a way to obtain strong, profitable leads?
Zillow creates a lose-lose situation. The potential buyer is angry, the agent is paying way too much money to compete with way too many agents, and it’s overwhelming for a buyer who is only on Zillow to browse through the home photos. During the timeline of these first searches, many buyers are in no way ready to transact on a property. I’m sure some Realtors thrive using Zillow leads, but it puts a sour taste in my mouth. It’s not honest, and it’s not accurate. Who is winning here? Zillow.
Let’s look into this a bit more. What is the lowdown on Zillow and similar sites?
Inaccurate information
For buyers:
Many of the homes listed on Zillow may not be for sale. For example, a client of mine was intrigued by a house they saw on Zillow. Zillow’s data showed the house was currently for sale, had been on the market for almost a month and was in the area and budget they wanted. What I found via the MLS is that the house had sold in three days a month prior and for over asking price.
Another way Zillow
can provide inaccurate information is through the agent listed with the
property. You would think this is the “listing agent” or the “seller’s
agent.” Wrong. It’s usually attached to a paying Realtor client of
Zillow. It’s misleading advertising, and it’s taking advantage of
people. So instead of turning to a massive online real estate database
like Zillow, turn to friends and family. A simple social media post
asking for a great local Realtor will probably get you great results!
For sellers:
Zestimates are Zillow’s algorithm-produced appraisals. They provide people with a basic estimate of what a particular property is worth. Are Zestimates ever accurate? Rarely. According to economist John Wake, the typical Zillow Zestimate error is $14,000. “You don’t know if it’s $14,000 too high or $14,000 too low. And it gets worse because HALF the time Zillow Zestimates are off by a lot more than $14,000”. How can they be accurate when there are so many factors to determine how much a house is worth. No two houses are the same which makes it impossible for a computer to determine it’s value. Zillow uses a computer generated algorithm based on what has sold in the area, the square footage and the number of bedrooms. The basics. They don’t have inspectors checking out each property making sure their data is accurate. That’s the only way to determine a property’s worth. Yet, many sellers will only look to Zillow when they start thinking about putting their house on the market.
Read the ENTIRE article here: For sellers:
Zestimates are Zillow’s algorithm-produced appraisals. They provide people with a basic estimate of what a particular property is worth. Are Zestimates ever accurate? Rarely. According to economist John Wake, the typical Zillow Zestimate error is $14,000. “You don’t know if it’s $14,000 too high or $14,000 too low. And it gets worse because HALF the time Zillow Zestimates are off by a lot more than $14,000”. How can they be accurate when there are so many factors to determine how much a house is worth. No two houses are the same which makes it impossible for a computer to determine it’s value. Zillow uses a computer generated algorithm based on what has sold in the area, the square footage and the number of bedrooms. The basics. They don’t have inspectors checking out each property making sure their data is accurate. That’s the only way to determine a property’s worth. Yet, many sellers will only look to Zillow when they start thinking about putting their house on the market.
Unwanted Communication
Daniel Barli, Esq.
http://www.barlilaw.com
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