For millions of serious and not-so-serious homebuyers, the first stops in the house hunt are likely the Zillows and Trulias. Consumers are drawn to their simple and intuitive designs, and more importantly, the landslide of listing information they can gather after a few searches.
Have questions regarding the value of your home? Contact the appraisers at www.scappraisals.com for your value questions.
What consumers can’t see is how the information is collected, culled and presented — a proprietary process that could lead to inaccuracies. Real estate agents and brokers in San Diego County and beyond have their horror stories: incorrect bed and bath counts, duplicates with differing prices and homes listed as active when they have already sold. What’s the likely implication of this for consumers? Misinformed buying decisions.
It’s also important to note that the Zillows and Trulias also draw from various sources. They include data providers, brokerages, individual agents and MLSs.
So the results you see on those sites represent a lot of data changing hands and being cleaned up in ways that are not disclosed to the public.
Read more at: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/mar/10/do-real-estate-search-sites-miss-accuracy-mark/
Disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only
Green Real Estate Appraiser 