Where to Search for Homes Online

by Jay Thompson on April 12, 2009 · Comments

in Real Estate

Zillow.com says they have 3,382,696 listings on their site. Realtor.com says they have 4,084,260. Trulia.com doesn’t advertise a number, but they do say they are, “The best place to start your real estate search”.

Really?

Does someone looking for a home in the Phoenix area really care if Trulia shows 16,628 homes for sale – in Miami, Florida?

Does it matter if Realtor.com says there are 3,044 homes in Boise, Idaho — if you are looking for a home in Gilbert, Arizona?

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that people generally are looking for a home in one particular metro area. Rare is the person who searches for homes across the entire U. S. of A.

OK, so these “national listing sites” have lots of listings, including lots of listings in the particular area you’re interested in.

But do they have all the listings?

The local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the only database that has every home listed by a real estate brokerage. But unless you are a licensed real estate agent and a member of a particular MLS, you can’t access it. What many agent sites have is called an IDX – short for Internet Data Exchange – which is a data feed from the MLS. There are a few brokerages that exclude their listings from being fed to an IDX (why is completely beyond me), but an IDX based search is going to give you, the non-agent home searcher, your best bet at seeing the most available listings on-line.

Let’s take a look at the number of listings available on various sites for some of the Phoenix metro area:

  Trulia Zillow Realtor.com Phoenix Real Estate Guy IDX
Gilbert 1,868 1,984 1,995 2,195
Mesa 2,410 3,389 3,951 4,275
Chandler 1,623 1,231 2,110 2,117
Tempe 590 937 915 990
Phoenix 7,266 11,193 11,297 11,884
         
Total Listings 13,757 18,734 20,268 21,461
% of IDX 64% 87% 94%  

So, if you’re searching for Phoenix and East Valley homes on Trulia, you won’t even see 36% of the homes available for sale. Use Zillow, and you’re missing out on 13% of the homes. Realtor.com is “only” missing 6% of listed homes. That sounds pretty good, unless of course that perfect abode or investment property is one of the 1,193 homes you’ll never see on Realtor.com…

I’m not writing this to slam these national listing sites. I know a lot of people that work at these places. They are good folks, and they work very hard. But the simple fact is, if you want access to the most homes online, you need to be searching a local real estate agent’s site, not a national listing aggregator.

Not all local search sites are the same, and not all IDX providers are the same.  Search around and find one you like. Some people like mine, some do not. There isn’t a perfect solution for every user.

One thing that may, or may not, matter to you is many agents will force you to register for access to their search, forcing you to give up varying degrees of personal information. Why do some agents do this? In a nutshell, they want to be able to contact you to see if they can help you. Register for a search and you’ve just become a sales lead.  I’ve tried my IDX search with and without registration, and there is no question that I capture more names, phone numbers and email addresses with registration enabled. But I personally hate registering on web sites so I find it quite conflicting to require people to register on mine. Hence you can search here to your hearts content, in complete anonymity. (Of note, if you want to save searches here, you will have to submit a valid email address – the system needs some way to know who you are and what you’ve saved).

I make the conscious choice not to require registration, and believe me, I get an earful from some of my fellow agents for that decision.  The debate about whether or not to require registration on a home search as raged since Day 1. I wrote my feelings about it back in September of 2006 in, MLS Registration Required – Not here folks! and there isn’t much point in rehashing that debate. It’s a personal choice. Not forcing registration doesn’t make me better (or worse) than someone that does, just different.

I don’t think any of the national listing aggregators require registration, and some of them have really slick search interfaces. After all, they have tens of millions in venture capital to develop them. (Or, in the case of Realtor.com, they have a ton of money from agents paying for “enhanced” listings. On my (and any) IDX, all the listings are enhanced.)

But they don’t have as many listings as a local agents IDX home search solution. You, the on-line home searcher, have to decide what you want, a fancy VC funded search system that’s missing significant chunks of what you are looking for, or an agents site that may not have as many bells and whistles, but at least gives you the best chance of finding that home you’re looking for.


 

Email This Post Email This Post Print This Post Print This Post

 

 

Thanks for reading! We value your thoughts and opinions, so please feel free to leave a comment. Please contact us if you have any questions or need help. You can also get automatic updates for this blog free via: Potentially Related Posts on Phoenix Real Estate Guy:
Ahwatukee Listings
Search Chandler Homes
Search Gilbert Homes

 




Read this blog's Comment Policy
  • Great article -- very informative, love the comparisions between the big 3 and what your site provides.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Colorado Springs Real Estate by Kathy Torline´s last blog post..Colorado Springs Homes for Sale — New Foreclosure Listings For week of April 4th</abbr>
  • Jay, you are a great blogger! I'm in the process of adding IDX to my site, I'll have to do some comparisons when I het everything up and running.
  • IDX is a great tool for the buyer and as we all know most buyers start their search on the internet. I too capture more leads when registration is enabled and I have mine set up to ask for registration once they have seen 8 properties. I do think once a buyer becomes more serious about buying they should enlist a buyer agent and see the MLS as the agent does. An agent sees the MLS in real time and can access important information like how many days a home has been on the market. Our MLS allows us to save a search for each client and create an MLS portal for them and alert them of any new listings matching their search criteria.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Kevin Curtis´s last blog post..St. Paul REO Nightmare #2</abbr>
  • Great post Jay, I think your IDX site ROCKS and you're doing the right thing without the registration hurdles etc. Now I am biased, but I think it could be cooler w/Zestimates and with mortgage payment estimates and I think many buyers are looking for recently sold homes too. If you'd like to add any of those dimensions to your search site, speak to Drew about the Zillow API. We even have have an API for you to add the FSBO that are listings posted on Zillow; some of which aren't even in the MLS.
  • Thanks for the great article, Jay. The only question on my mind is how Redfin would compare to the other sites. (Since they don't operate in the Phoenix area, I guess you're not following them as closely).
  • Mike -

    Redfin is in my market in Seattle and in my experience, they have a very thorough inventory of listings. Redfin is a brokerage and so they publish the complete IDX feed but they also source listings not available via the MLS. In the current market, there's major demand for foreclosed listings and many of them, like many FSBO listings, are not in the MLS. So, Redfin sources foreclosure listings from more complete sources than the MLS (as does Zillow.) If you search the Redfin blog you'll find more details of the source of their foreclosure listings.
  • Rudy
    Hi Jay,

    We work on increasing our coverage and comprehensiveness everyday. Stay tuned.... ;)

    Rudy
    Social Media Guru at Trulia.com
  • Good information. A lot of people may not realize that Trulia and Zillow are not connected to and syncing with the MLS'es across the country. To get the real listings just find a good real estate website around that area with a functional IDX.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Portland Real Estate´s last blog post..Atomic Bean</abbr>
  • @Kevin - our MLS has the same options, and I agree that a serious buyer needs to work with an agent for ultimate search access (though one can get days on market on my IDX search.

    @David - no need for the Zillow API here, my IDX provider, Diverse Solutions, has both Zestimates and Z's search (including FSBOs) implemented. I could have sworn I had them enabled, but I didn't. I do now....

    @Mike - even though Redfin isn't in the Phoenix market, I follow them pretty closely. I like their search interface (again, built with venture capital money. Wish I had a piece of that...) and as David mentions, since they are a brokerage, they are in effect an IDX, not a listing aggregator.
  • Jay, didn't see Roost in the list. Like you, we believe in IDX to provide consumers with the most comprehensive data available. A search of our site this morning provided results (see below) that were almost identical to your data in the post. We also don't believe in forced registration and applaud you for having the same philosophy. As always, keep up the great work.

    Derek
    Roost.com

    Gilbert - 2284
    Mesa - 4351
    Chandler - 2163
    Tempe - 1014
    Phoenix - 12119

    Total Listings - 21931

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Derek Overbey´s last blog post..Corus Bankshares Sees Red with South Florida Condo Loans</abbr>
  • @Derek - I didn't include Roost because, as you mention, Roost is basically an IDX solution (and a well done one at that). Your numbers are interesting, you've actually got more in Tempe than is in the MLS. Why would that be?
  • On my website I simply have a registration for new listings notification system where they put the info in and you add them to the prospecting system that will email them new MLS listings up to 2 days before they are available on the public REALTOR.ca website. I seem to get enough people registering to keep it that way.
  • Great article. Our office leaves it to individual agents to decideon how much info to collect before allowing a home search. As you said, opinions are varied. Whatever works for each of us.
  • Arnold Semmons
    The reason I use your site is because I don't have to register, and it has all the info I want and need. I don't want people calling me and following up, etc. Some people involved in sales don't seem to understand that there are customers who simply don't want to be contacted. I view it as a pressuring technique, and I don't like it. When I am ready to buy, believe me, I will contact you. I never forget those people who help me out. Thank you.
  • Jay, are you speaking of the 24 property delta between your site and ours? Could be a timing issue between when the data was pulled down (yesterday to today). Let me know.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Derek Overbey´s last blog post..Boise is Better Than Rest of the Nation as Far as Mortgage Delinquencies and Foreclosures</abbr>
  • Jay, I love all of the comments. I think you got a few people trying to defend themselves.. I agree, I do the same thing. Might as well. We live in an information society. Information is key, and with it at our fingertips, consumers have the ability to go else where to get it, if they don't like what they are seeing. You have a very short window of opportunity, so therefore we capitalize on that.. Good post
  • You bring up a pretty good point here Jay. The local IDX websites will typically have 100% of the listings, while the national sites that you used in your example do not. I actually think that Diverse Solutions has one of the better IDX's available. REW from BC also puts together a good custom IDX if you have the extra money.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Ryan´s last blog post..Bed and Breakfast in Bellingham Washington</abbr>
  • http://tinyurl.com/d6dthn Interesting graph showing the disparity between IDX & aggregators
  • I have had clients send me listings that they find on the "national" sites- and they are stale- sold, pending and even expired. A local MLS search- gives you the most up-to-date information on a home. Diverse Solutions is a great product and has some very cool applications.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Jamie Geiger´s last blog post..Chandler Real Estate- Market Statistics Mar 2009</abbr>
  • Good Info. Perfect to show clients that Real Estate is always local!

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>IamUtahRealEstate. Marty Reynolds´s last blog post..RAMPAGE 99 BLACK SCHEDULE (SPRING ‘09)</abbr>
  • Hey, who cares about comprehensive, up-to-date listings, when a site like Zillow has cool maps and widgets that fly around ?
  • Good Morning Jay-
    I’m a little late to your article, but would certainly want Cyberhomes.com included in this discussion. Of course we are continually working on increasing the reach of our listings database which currently is around 3 million listings. But something I was surprised you didn’t mention much was everything else around the home. I know the few neighborhoods Nicole and I bought in were heavily researched. We started at the city level, and looked at the local economics and people trends to find a neighborhood we believe that we fit into best. Then we researched schools and of course then located our home.

    Also as registration goes, you have it right.
  • @reggie - *excellent* points about researching outside the actual listing itself. And there are many places to do such research. Cyberhomes provides great tools. Some IDX's <insert shameless="shameless" plug="plug" here:="here:" like="like" mine="mine"> also provide research capability for things like schools, area demographics, Google Street View, etc.

    I wanted to include some of this info, but the post was already way too long. It's on my "posts to write" list.

    You betcha there is more to finding a home on-line than the listing itself. But, as important as additional research is, the simple fact is if someone is looking for a home and the site they are on doesn't show that home as available, then it doesn't really matter what their research says -- they'll never see what may be the perfect home.</insert>
  • Does anybody think Craigslist is a terrible search site? Because it seems to me that a lot of potential buyers use it to browse homes in the area they are looking for. Naturally I am a little biased towards using this kind of local classifieds search engine because its part of the service that i offer to agents :) but seriously, there are literally thousands of people browsing the Phoenix classifieds on Craigslist and Backpage and nobody has mentioned it in this comment string yet? If you aren't putting at least SOME properties on Craigslist and Top-Posting, i think you might be really missing out on some potential clients.
  • Where to Search for Homes Online (hint, it's not a national site). New on TPREG: http://is.gd/s6PA (via @PhxREguy)
  • @Kyle - from purely a design and usability perspective, CraigsList is a disaster. But, there is no question that it get phenomenal traffic and is a place to get good exposure for listings.

    I post all our listings on Craigslist, Backpage, Zillow, Trulia and about 40 other sites. That's part of my job when I represent sellers -- to get their homes in front of as many people as possible.

    However, CraigsList is a horrible place for a homebuyer to search for a home. The photos are very limited, there is no way to separate out all the other crap people post and only a very small portion of available homes will be on CraigsList. It's not much better than searching for a home in the Sunday paper.

    Granted, many people look there, which is why a listing agent should put a listing there, but that doesn't make it a good place for the real estate buyer to search...
  • Holy Crap! The Truth.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Joseph Ferrara.Sellsius´s last blog post..Kutano: Guerrilla Commenting on Any Website</abbr>
  • So well articulated Jay. Would hate to be up against you in a listing presentation :)

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Stacey Harmon´s last blog post..From Drab…to Fab!</abbr>
  • Good article! I think focusing on micro markets is more important to buyers/sellers then the overall state of the US of A market.
    Then again, this is just my 5 cents.
  • FWIW, agents might try listing houses on OLX.com, the biggest free classified site you (probably) never heard of. It's a better craigslist. Because of its strength outside the US, it may be useful if your market is attractive to foreign buyers.
    http://tinyurl.com/dfuxxc
  • Great article! It is very clear that the internet has changed the way consumers search for properties, and that different solutions fit better/worse for different people. Right now, my wife and I are searching for a home (with an agent) and using basically an IDX solution. Now I know we are missing some properties! On another note, I'm a researcher at UCR, and we are currently running a prediction market on traffic to various popular real estate search sites. This is due in part to may interest in buying right now :) If you are interested, check it out here
  • This is an awesome post. As Marty pointed out...real estate is local. That means buyers need highly relevant content and listings for a highly localized area. In the research we've been conducting, we hear time and time again that people want to know as much as they can about an area and even the individual properties...a major reason for the rise in "hyperlocal" websites sprouting up everywhere. The magic will happen when all listings--FSBO, MLS, Foreclosures, etc.--are brought together with "hyperlocal" content and fused into a streamlined search and display. Of course, then the trick will be keeping it all up to date.
  • The truth about TruZilla's listings coverage http://is.gd/s6PA
  • Interesting! You even have a customer state they won't register but will call YOU when they see what they want to buy. These times are a changing, but I wouldn't sit around waiting for that customer to actual call me. I can remember when I last saw the backside of the horse as they tried to close the gate. Interesting!
  • Gregory wrote: "Interesting! You even have a customer state they won’t register but will call YOU when they see what they want to buy. These times are a changing, but I wouldn’t sit around waiting for that customer to actual call me."

    So what would you do? Call someone that doesn't want to be called? If Arnold (the commenter in comment #14) has "registered" to save searches, I could do a reverse lookup on his email address and likely find a phone number, and call him. (I know agents that do this.)

    But this seems silly as clearly he doesn't want to be bothered.

    I know there are a lot of "Arnold's" out there, as they do reach out and contact us when they are ready. Happens all the time. I can't force anyone into buying or selling a home when they aren't ready for it. Arnold knows when he's ready, not me.

    Could I force registration and lose the Arnold's of the world (but gain others)? Sure. But that's just not my style. As someone who uses the Internet a LOT, I despise having to provide personal information and I despise even more some sales guy hitting me up and "selling me". Seems I'd be a big ol hypocrite if I just turned around and did it to my site visitors.

    @Arnold - thanks, and I know you'll call when/if you're ready. And we'll be here to help.
  • Amen Brother!
  • Sorry, Jay. I hope the "system" you and others are using will pay you back in big dividends. I don't use the IDX system on my web sites - if the company wants to operate one (and they do) I'll let them provide the information.

    I have in the past paid for IDX and used the registration and non registration method you describe. My company has provided me over a hundred leads that sit dormant in my portal. Those leads gave up their name, address, email, telephone number and asked to speak an agent about a house. Most just really wanted the address of the home. You know the listing agent gets to check off if the home is to be shared with or without the address.

    For the most part, I just give them the address. And, if you have been in the business long enough you would know that it goes against the grain. Many of us subscribed to the SALES methods of Floyd Wickman, not some wine guru or the modern day convention speakers. I just give them the address because like you said, "I can’t force anyone into buying or selling a home ".

    But, I also put them on a drip email from the MLS for similar homes in the area and price range of the home called in about. I track it, too. The MLS tells me if they open the email or not. On some slow day I even give a call and leave them a message to ask if they want me to continue sending them the email or not. Sometimes they like the follow up and other times I get silence or even a nasty reply.

    The other week I showed a house to someone who "doesn't want to be bothered" by agents but spends his time looking on another agent's IDX and doing drive-by inspections. When this customer drove by my listing he didn't call the agent paying the money out for the IDX. He called the number on the sign. He called me.

    The customer only wants to "deal" with the listing agent. And, he made an offer on the house. His offer? $300,000 for a house that is listed competitively for the neighborhood and condition at $389,000. The owners counter - "go pound sand". There was no talking either party into a negotiated sale. All parties know how to look up information on the web. So, here's a news flash to the would be buyer - the seller has the same information you do and they are not stupid.

    So, yes. I know there are "customers" out there looking, waiting, lurking for that great deal. I am even part of the new "marketing" program of taking lots of pictures, writing great descriptions, and unlocking the doors to many homes for these would be buyers. But, I liked it better when I was a salesman.

    Good Luck.
  • Gregory -

    There is more than one way to skin a cat in this business. So far in the month of April there have been 46 people that registered on my IDX, completely of their own accord so they can save searches, tag favorites and get automated listings updates.

    46 in 15 days isn't too bad. We're pushing just over 1,000 in the IDX database in the past 14 months or so, have another 4,100 in the Point2 website database and a couple of hundred we've set up manually in the MLS for auto-listings.

    Will of of those turn into clients? Of course not. Yep, some will search here for months on end, then go to Aunt Sally or the listing agent for help. Many people that search here are referred by other agents. Yes, they send their clients here to use the search tool I pay for, then they write the contract and pick up the commission check. Personally, I can't fathom telling one of my clients to go to another local agent's site to look for homes and call me when they find one, but it happens every day.

    But plenty enough do call or email when they are ready to buy or sell. At least enough to allow us to open our own brokerage in the middle of the worst market in decades and bring in 10 agents to help handle the business.

    We've had people that have used our site for over two years that we've never had contact with that become clients.

    It seems to work. Could it work better? Absolutely.

    I'll freely admit I'm not much of a salesman. I consider myself more of a consultant.

    Heck, if someone drives by one of my signs and calls me, I'll refer them out because I abhor dual agency. Many think I'm crazy because I turn down opportunities to "double-side" a transaction. That's not a typical thing for a "salesman" to do.

    Do I lose some potential clients because I don't force registration? There's no doubt. I suspect you lose some too as your site sends them off to realestate.com to search for NJ homes (incidentally, that link isn't right as it's trying to force the search to NJ, and you can't use state level searches on realestate.com).

    There is no question that many internet "leads" suck. It's a numbers game. And every agent out there has a different strategy for handling internet leads. I do a terrible job at "lead cultivation" because I am so hands off. I have drips and auto-listings and all that but my follow up stinks (it's basically non-existent). Still, for whatever reason, people call and ask us to list their house or help them find one to buy.

    When I get a phone call or email that says, "Please bring over the paperwork to list our home", or "Can we go look at some homes", I don't consider that person a lead. I consider them a client.
  • In the response to the Craigslist site, I don't think this is a great way to search for a home. There is a lot of spam and other garbage on there and I just don't like their search feature at all for anything for that matter. You are right though, there are many people who use that site to search for homes or anything really.
  • This is excellent information. Keep up the good work.
  • I agree with you, Jay, if I was a potential home buyer I would prefer to see all home listings, rather than some on a pretty page.

    Dallas Highrises
  • Hardware does happen, despite your most well laid plans. Seems that they are taking the necessary steps to prevent it. I'm with you about the registration issue. We don't require it either.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Charles´s last blog post..Hope for Distressed Homeowners</abbr>
  • Jay

    Great article...I have thinking about writing a similar post and doing some comparisons with Zillow and Trulia in my local market of Santa Barbara CA. Your article just gave me another angle as I think I will wirte a few.

    thanks
    kevin schmidtchen
    sotheby's int'l realty
    santa barbara, ca
  • its a great posts, helped me great deal man, thanks
  • Wonderful table to show the differences in results between the big search sites and more local IDX searches on Realtor sites.
  • I think the thing to remember that buyers are looking for information and have started more and more to develop independant ways to research their next home purchase. The one resource they still find useful is a realtors local knowledge, experience of local conditions in the real estate market within sub communities, the local contacts that have been established over the years with different vendors and resources all applicable to the real estate transaction as well as an ability to help remove some of the stress of what is commonly known as one of the most stressful times of a persons life :)

    The internet is just another tool the home buyer has at their disposal.

    Gary

    Gary Ashton
    RE/MAX Elite
    Nashville TN
  • I think the thing to remember that buyers are looking for information and have started more and more to develop independant ways to research their next home purchase. The one resource they still find useful is a realtors local knowledge, experience of local conditions in the real estate market within sub communities, the local contacts that have been established over the years with different vendors and resources all applicable to the real estate transaction as well as an ability to help remove some of the stress of what is commonly known as one of the most stressful times of a persons life :)

    The internet is just another tool the home buyer has at their disposal.

    Gary

    Gary Ashton
    RE/MAX Elite
    Nashville TN
  • The enthusiasm for the little guy is overwhelming - another American ideal that is slowly slipping away. I love the LOCAL emphasis made by some. No one ever gives an elaborate analysis of what that means. Does local mean the town you live in? Maybe, it means a zip code or two. But, some may say it is the entire city and the immediate suburbs. To me it means as far as my MLS covers.

    And, because my MLS had a fight with the original MLS for this area and became its own data collection center, I am forced to belong to at least two MLS bandits. Forced if I want to best serve the home buyer and seller - clients. Does my LOCAL cover the geographical area of the two MLS companies?

    No. I belong to four of the bandits. And, I found a great house at an amazing price for one of my clients on an MLS that really doesn't even serve the area. But, that is the MLS the BROKER placed the home on and the one where I found it. Of course, the client has a few issues with his credit so he lost that one to someone else from a far away distance who knew a good deal when he saw it. Regardless, of the lack of LOCAL expertise.

    I will drive any distance to sell a house if I have access to the data and keys. I can get most of the "local" information right off the internet. And, most of the time I know more about the area than some of the so called local experts. A good GPS, access to the internet, a supra key, and - a client that can afford to buy is all I need to sell a home.

    And, yes. The client who could not close on the deal had a "pre-qualification letter" from a mortgage broker. And, I had checked in with that mortgage broker several times to be sure we could do the deal, but you know how that story goes.

    So, Jay's data is great for the little guy in Arizona, because it is true in Phoenix Arizona. But, it's not true in New Jersey and many other locations. IMHO - your LOCO Realtor.
  • Local to is anywhere within about 90 minutes of Nashville. I have a team of 15 agents and we all cover Nashville as a whole but thewn have a sub speciality of an area local to that agent. This helps tremendously when we have buyers that want to cover the whole of the Nashville area as we can refer to the "local" expert for another area if we need more information :)

    Gary :)
  • Gregory -

    I have lots of friends that have to deal with multiple/overlapping MLS's. It sounds like a giant pain in the ass.

    Our MLS covers Maricopa county, and a small part of another one.

    Maricopa County is larger in square miles than the entire state of New Jersey.

    So for me, I can't even give LOCAL expertise within my MLS area. There is *no way* any single agent can have expertise over a 10,000 square mile area. I don't even feel I can provide local expertise across the Phoenix metro area. I can easily drive 65 miles from my house and still be in the Phoenix metro area. To me, this far exceeds any definition of "local expertise". 65 miles is roughly the distance from Atlantic City to Trenton. Should an agent in Trenton sell houses in Atlantic City, even if they have MLS data and keys for both?

    The point of this post wasn't really about the "little guy" and whatever "LOCAL" means. The point I was trying to make is the national aggregation sites do not have all the listings. In areas like yours with multiple and/or overlapping MLS coverage, there isn't a single IDX solution either.

    But I strongly suspect that if you looked at the number of listings your four MLS's cover, it would be more than what the national aggregators have.
  • Jay, I forgot to thank you about that info on my bad link. Anyway, you are a great guy and provide truthful information and that's what most people take away from your site. It's good information on local and even national interest regarding real estate and life in general.

    My comments are not meant to ruffle any feathers but to clearify the issue of MLS' territories. No one can argue with your numbers but in states like NJ, no real estate agent pays for multiple data links for all different the IDX systems involved in house hunting. They either need a good agent or hunt multiple sites.
  • Gregory made a good point with how many people can get your number off the yard sign; however, I do think he is missing out on the magic of the internet to reach even more potential clients. A local IDX search is really the best place to find the comprehensive listings for the whole area and with all the searching people do on the internet these days, it can only help to also have online home searches from your site. You know, I don't think I have even opened a phone book this year, I just go on the internet...
  • Leon, the point I was trying to make was we have given away too much "free" information and because of it our days are numbered. Jay has a large fan base that uses his web site to communicate the problems they encounter and get educated on the intricate details of real estate sales.

    Locally, he provides home shoppers with more available homes than the big guys. But, that will not make them loyal to him. Many will find the address of a home on his web site and do a drive-by. They may print out several homes and then take a look at the street and a three dimensional look at the home. At that moment, while sitting in their car looking at the house, they will pick up their cell phone and call the name and number on the sign in front of the house.

    That doesn't mean the home shopper is a bad person. They like Jay or whomever provided them with the knowledge of the home, but they just naturally call the big number in front of them. They don't mean to cause Jay a loss of money. They got the information for FREE. They have now come to expect the information to be given freely. Jay and other agents spend thousands of dollars to provide it, but it cost the customer NOTHING.

    When something costs NOTHING, that's what the person who receives it thinks it is worth. And, that is what real estate sales has become.

    Don't get me wrong. I too use the "free" services provided on the internet. Several years ago, I watched a relative buy a brand new car off of the internet. They got the best price, someone brought the car to them and gave them all the papers and an orentation of it. They never even stepped into a dealership. The car even came with a service package where the dealership would pick up the car and change the oil, etc. and return it to them.

    No one is a salesman any more. They are all 'customer service representatives' being paid a few dollars more than the minimum wage. I no longer belong to AAA for travel and car break-down. I use the internet and my cell phone carrier offers a break-down service for $3 a month. Of course, at the current pay, I can't afford to travel any where anytime soon.

    When I stated in my first post that it was "interesting" and we are watching the back side of the horse disappear, I am not point fingers. I too offered a IDX on my web site for years, but the over lapping of MLS areas was not giving a complete picture. Customers would call and ask about homes on Realtor dot com or some other web site and ask WHY it did not show up on my site. That IDX link is expensive and for each MLS to provide the information becomes cost prohibitive to me.

    If Jay and Franie can provide a service so that when they look at the company balance sheet it shows a positive return to him then great. I hope that they see a loyalty from all the customers who use his "free" service and that success is with them always. However, for me, providing great service has not resulted in providing adequately for my family. To me, real estate sales, as we know it, is gone.

    We let the cattle out of the barn and then out of the holding pen to graze in the meadow. We did that so customers would see all our fine stock eating good green grass. But, the cattle wandered here and there and we did nothing to claim them as our own (see DOJ vs. NAR). So, for good or bad, I see the farm has changed.

    I see a day when a customer can sign up for their own Supra Key to gain access of homes without an agent. A driver's license, small $500 deposit and an email address will be all you need to see a home. No agent to "sell" you a home you don't want (like that's been posible for me and others). Soon we will have nothing but "customer service representative" who take down information and post to a web site. Seven, eight, nine dollars an hour to answer questions on the telephone until they ship those jobs to another country. When it is time to buy the home you will just fill out an on-line form that has your electronic signature and bam - you own a home.

    I guess the good news is: we don't work for Pontiac.
  • Greg, I would like to understand why you think people automatically call the number on the sign? I think the customer is becoming much more sophisticated and understands the concept of dual agency. I for one would have never used the listing agent in the transaction of my home back in 2004. I would not believe my best interests were being looked out for in that situation. I'm also a consumer that appreciates where I get information whether it's free or not. Let's face it, Jay doesn't get all his business because of his Twitter network. Heck, a ton of his network is other agents, brokers and real estate technology guys like me. IMO I think he does well because he provides the info in an easy to use format, doesn't pressure people to work with him and is just a damn fine individual. If I was buying in the Phoenix area, I'm certain I would use him, unless it was his listing.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Derek Overbey´s last blog post..How Much Detroit Real Estate Could You Buy for $50,000?</abbr>
  • Derek, there are many anomalies in life I can not fully explain to anyone's satisfaction. I have no hard fast data that I am correct. It is like stating home owners are better citizens, or, a college educated person earns more than someone who does not have a degree. I once stated that home buyers shop more on sunny days to a client and she wanted to know what the weather has to do with buying a home. I can't explain the why.

    As for the weather and buying homes, it has been my personal experience in southern NJ that plays a big part in activity of home buyers. It is a fact that carries over to the gambling industry, too. As an accountant I was told to track the number of sunny days in Atlantic City to help explain the increase or decrease of revenue. So, if a casino finds it to be a variable in business, then I think I can assume it is safe to carry it over to home shopping.

    As for calling the number on the sign? I have met several people who used my web site to help find a home, yet purchased it by calling the number on the sign. But, I have no hard numbers to prove it to be a universal occurance. My writing is only an opinion, not a writ.
  • Point taken Gregory.

    <abbr></abbr><abbr>Derek Overbey´s last blog post..If You Buy a Home in Nampa, Idaho, You Can Say to Yourself “What a place to live!”</abbr>
  • What a great article!!! I send reports every other week to my sellers letting them know how much exposure they get from those "big" home advertising sites. I must say that we do get a lot of hits. On the other hand for my buyers it poses a problem because they miss out on so many opportunities for great homes. They come in disappointed because they can't find what they are wanting. Of course when I show them they are out there in and IDX search on my site they cheer up but I wish everyone knew that. Again thanks for the great article. Couldn't have said it better myself.
  • Great information on the big three. I have found that the big three are a double edged sword. I love them because they give my sellers unmatched exposure. I hate the big three because they are my main competition in the search engine rankings. I have them beat in most search categories but it was a major job. If agents would just do listings and stop adding content to those sites via blogging and Q&A, things would be a whole lot easier. I'll probably always have this problem as very few agents do a big time website meaning they will always rely on the big 3 for everything.
  • I too don't require web searchers to have to register before they can search the MLS/IDX on my website ..... if a potential buyer wants you to contact them they will let you know:) I offer 2 searches, the one powered by marketlinx and the other from immobel.com
  • Does the IDX list homes that haven't been finished yet? I'm looking for homes in developments that give me some options. The only places I've found are at home builders websites like 1UtahHomes.com and at the model homes. Is there another place to find these types of houses?
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post: Boys and their Toys: The Command Center Expands

Next post: Nerd Alert! MIT shows “Six Sense” – wicked cool tech interaction device