Don't Use the Wrong Sites!

Posted By @ Apr 19th 2018 12:23pm In: Sedona Real Estate Market News

If you’re thinking about buying a new home, chances are you looked up your current home on Zillow. One of the main functions of Zillow is to estimate the value of your home, based on comps, or comparisons with similar homes that have sold nearby.

Zillow, as well as Trulia and other, similar sites, also list real estate openings, and provide a way for you to engage a realtor when you find a home you like.

There are a couple of problems with visiting these sites. For one thing, the home values can be wildly off-base. I sold a home in Phoenix about 5 years ago, and Zillow underestimated the value by almost $80,000. It was a pleasant surprise to learn what the true value was, from a professional appraiser.

Another issue, which may be even more frustrating, is when you find the perfect house, and excitedly engage a realtor through the site, only to find out it was sold the day before. And homes do not immediately appear on these sites the same day as an MLS listing. And according to one study, while some homes may appear earlier, the delay between from when a home is added on the MLS and when it appears on Zillow was 7 days, and even longer with Trulia, 9 days.

When you are searching for a home, you expect to see all the homes that meet your criteria. You are counting on them to give you the most complete list.

During a recent comparison of homes listed for sale in the 86336-zip code for Sedona, both Zillow and Trulia were missing almost 34 percent of available homes for sale when compared to the MLS.

Keep in mind that companies such as Zillow and Trulia are not real estate agents or brokers, and do not receive their listings directly from the MLS. This could mean that you’re missing 34 percent and sometimes more of the available homes for sale in Sedona.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt to look at these sites to get an idea of what the current market is like in a very general way. So, how can you know that you are getting the most timely, accurate and complete information about homes for sale in Sedona?

Websites that use Internet Data Exchange (IDX) are updated according to the MLS, and may be updated several times per day. This site, Make Sedona My Home, lets you check current listings all over the Verde Valley. Its search features make it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

You'll see that you can also find information about area events, real estate, schools, building costs, market trends, and more.

A happy buyer is an educated buyer!