I recently learned about a big problem homebuyers are experiencing. Maybe it has even happened to you.
You find a great-looking home on a real estate website … it’s in a neighborhood you like, has the space you need, and it’s in your price range. So what’s the hitch? Someone bought it nine days ago.
Some popular real estate websites are way less accurate than others
I didn’t know how big a problem this was until I came across a study conducted by the WAV Group. The research revealed huge differences in the reliability of information on various real estate websites.
For example, the study found that two of the most-visited national real estate portal websites had a bunch of properties listed for sale that were no longer on the market. How much is a bunch? Well, if your search on those sites turns up 50 properties, chances are that 18 of those homes are no longer for sale.
Those same real estate portal sites are also slow to get properties online after they become available for sale … a median of 7-9 days. And those sites don’t even display about one fifth of all the properties listed in the local MLS.
There are reliable sources out there
Local real estate brokerage websites fared much better in the WAV Group study. Rather than a 7- to 9-day lag, properties showed up on these sites within a half-hour of hitting the MLS. The local brokerage sites also had all of the properties from the MLS. And they almost never displayed properties that had already been sold.
The trick, then, is to know which sites are which.
Here’s a smart shortcut … Look for REALTOR® websites. Or talk with a Texas REALTOR®. REALTORS® are actually in the business of representing consumers in real estate transactions. They know that to do that properly and with the highest level of professionalism, they have to have accurate data. They also understand what to do with that information so you can be successful in getting the home you want.
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