Zillow, Trulia data accuracy issues in the limelight once again

Real estate websites keep adding a lot of bells and whistles, to get more home buyers and sellers to visit and return to their site, as opposed to the competition.   While it may be nice to see them provide information like  what schools are nearby, or walk scores or neighborhood information, what home buyers and sellers really want from these websites is accuracy.  

ZipRealty, a site competing with other popular real estate websites like Zillow and Trulia, analysed real estate listing data in 50 zip codes in 13 major metro areas.  In the areas studied, ZipRealty claims that more than 15 percent of homes shown for sale on Zillow and Trulia weren't actually on the market, and up to 30 percent of homes that were listed for sale in an MLS were not identified by the portals as being on the market.  They may have been sold or otherwise withdrawn from the market.

A consulting firm called The Wav Group did a study for the brokerage Redfin.  The found that about 36 percent of the listings shown as active on Zillow and Trulia were no longer for sale in the local MLS, while brokerage websites had few or no such errors.

While the sites are working on getting their listings from select sources to offer more accuracy to the consumers, your best bet for the most accurate real estate information still remains your friendly local Realtor.

Bela Vora, REALTOR®, 
Coldwell Banker Preferred - Exton Real Estate.
Office: 610 363 6006; Cell: (484) 947 3127

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