Ways to Use Zillow and Trulia in Your Home Search
In my years as a Grand Rapids real estate agent, there have been a
lot of changes in real estate. If you haven’t bought or sold a home in
the last few years, you may notice that one of the biggest changes is
that nearly all buyers begin their search for a new home online, in one
fashion or another. And not only that, a couple of very popular sites –
Zillow and Trulia – have introduced a whole new concept to searching for
real estate. Many home buyers find these sites interesting to browse
and at least somewhat helpful in two ways:
- Searching for homes
. Searching for homes on either site can provide you a general sense of what’s available in your target area(s), including foreclosures and “for sale by owner” properties.
The downside is that some MLSs don’t provide their listings to Zillow and/or Trulia, so Zillow and Trulia don’t provide a complete picture. And perhaps an even bigger issue at times like this, when the market is hot, is that there can be a big time lag between when a property is listed and when it appears on either site (or gets removed). Potential buyers can become frustrated when they keep seeing homes that are actually already sold. - Home values
. You can do a little research on home values from both Zillow and Trulia as well, to give you an idea of what homes might be worth in a particular area. The individual home valuation estimates come from web crawlers that search tax data, sales data, asking prices, and other information available online.
People complain that the estimates are way off, particularly for executive homes, but you may get a ballpark idea of the value of properties in your target area. You will need to talk to a Grand Rapids real estate agent familiar with the market to find out whether prices are going up or down, and why they may or may not be an accurate reflection of actual selling prices in the area.
Although both Zillow and Trulia have their uses, when you are
looking in a particular area, you will find the most up to date listings
on the local MLS. If you’re interested in what’s available in the Grand
Rapids real estate market, browse local MLS listings
through my website any time, 24/7, from the comfort of your arm chair!
That way you can browse and find a home you like, and be assured that it
is the most current information.
One thing that hasn’t changed,
regardless of how much people are using these sites, is how most people
buy a home. For the vast majority of Americans, a qualified real estate
agent provides an irreplaceable service when it comes time to purchase a
new home. After all, real estate transactions can be complicated, and
involve emotions as well as a substantial investment. When you’re ready
to find your new home, contact me at 616-485-0952.
In the end, real
estate is personal, and I would personally like to help you find the
right home for you.
Photo: Ed Yourdon
