Sellers expect their listing agent to toil for weeks and months searching for the right buyer for their home. Let’s face it, that’s how other jobs work – the desired result comes at the end of the effort.
But it’s the opposite when selling a house. The tight inventory has left anxious buyers waiting for the next new listing to come along, and when it does, they pounce on it in the first few days.
This is why Zillow has become the go-to website for buyers. Zillow provides transparency with several great features (and the zestimate is down the list):
1. Zillow shows how long the property has been listed for sale, and how long the property has been on Zillow. The ‘re-freshing’ of listings isn’t fooling buyers, because Zillow divulges the truth.
2. They track how many times the property has been viewed on Zillow, which is a secondary ‘sniff test’, much like the days-on market stat. Once a property has been seen hundreds of times, the buyers start wondering why it hasn’t sold (much like the DOM count):
3. Savvy buyers know that the zestimate is a rough guess of actual value. But Zillow backs it up nicely with three similar listings nearby, AND the last three closed sales – all on the same page!
4. They also show how much the seller paid, and when. Buyers will grant sellers the right to make a profit, so only the greedy are harmed here.
5. The categories of homes for sale on Zillow are prioritized by date listed.
These data points are all in a seller’s favor during the first few days the home is on the market – use them wisely!
The best thing that could happen to the market is a mass marketing campaign by Zillow (or anybody) to explain to sellers that the urgency created in the first few days on the market should be used as a selling tool. Then, at some point, maybe we can convert to an auction-like format to sell houses!
Pete adds more here:
http://www.economist.com/news/21631906-tech-transformation-will-last-come-property-industry-argues-pete-flint-property-move
It’s so nice to have a realtor who is so tech-savvy!
Ya think “Pete” might have a biased interest??
Yes, but you could say that about everyone in RE.
This was an interesting paragraph – pointing out that agents need to take their value proposition to the consumer, because otherwise they don’t need us. Yet do you see any agents demonstrating their expertise to consumers? I don’t – I just see the usual glossy marketing campaigns:
Third, as basic property information becomes ubiquitous, so service and branding will become essential differentiators for companies in the industry. You already see this in markets such as Britain and Australia. With home-buyers younger, tech-savvier, better informed and more decisive, real-estate professionals will get more creative in how they manage their relationships, provide insights and guide people through the process. The importance of personal attention and service remains paramount in property, so expect to see more agents investing time in building a comprehensive online presence, through increased use of social media and maintenance of detailed agent profiles, where they can demonstrate their experience and expertise to people everywhere, not just those they know in the neighbourhood. This emphasis on transparency should improve the level of service the industry offers.
In the case of new listings currently today (Carlsbad) on Zillow, why are there so many listings shown with only 1 picture?
Are all of these listings that got stale and they put them back up as new listings and do not show that they were previously on the market and taken off?
The majority of these show on Redfin that either they were sold recently or else the most recent listing for this property has gone off the market.
I prefer Redfin myself over Zillow but do not care for their new search view that looks just like Zillow’s.
We are talking about a group of people (realtors) who think nothing of violating MLS rules. Zillow has no rules, and no enforcement – expect agents to make a mess of it.
You probably saw what I saw – agents inputting their old Listings after the sale closed months ago. Desperate agents will do anything to make the phone ring.
Here are my two cents.
Besides adequate length and width and height of expertise of an agent, the number one quality I look for in an agent is how down to earth he/she is and whether he/she gets down from his/her high horse and really sees things from the client’s level. There is too much arrogance in that business IMO esp. in southern CA.
I am a supporter of buyers agents who are paid by the buyers. The market will reflect this by Way of sellers lowering the price accordingly. Buyers should grow up and you (generally) get what you pay. Why should RE be any different?
So far I have found Redfin being the most accurate and the quickest in either showing new listings and removing sold ones. The last time I touched Realtor.com was five years ago. Zestimate annoys me to no end.
Redfin has a direct feed from the MLS – Zillow gets it from a third party, so there is some delay. Agents can upload directly to Zillow if wanted and needed.
Realtor.com is an absolutely awesome website…..if this was 2006.
The zestimate has gone from a novelty to a waste of time. Everyone would rather look at the actual comps, and do their own analysis.
I am a supporter of buyers agents who are paid by the buyers.
The market is heading that way – once buyer agents get cut out by listing agents, they will offer their services a la carte as buyer consultants. Those with marketable skills will make a good living.
What is the point of Realtors inputting old listings where the sale closed months ago? To pad their sales count or something?
I miss the old Redfin layout on their search where it had map on left side, all the properties in that area you searched listed in rows at bottom and the pictures of properties in the top right when you clicked them in the bottom rows.
My favorite feature was being able to sort the rows at bottom by days on market, price, sq ft., price/sq ft. and by the neighborhood name the house was located in. Now it seems like they just joined the rest of the internet sites that make you click all over the place to find what you want. Sure you could do a advanced search and find that but being able to sort a ton of properties by rows based on those criteria and not having to click to the next page and next page etc. seemed more ideal to me. Yet I am sure you clicking on more pages = more advertising revenue in their pockets as you are generating more impressions for their banners displayed at the bottom of every listing page.
Actually my bad….it is just Zillow with banner ads at the bottom of every listing page. Redfin does not have banner ads on their listing pages that I can see.
What is the point of Realtors inputting old listings where the sale closed months ago?
Just to make the phone ring, then bait and switch.
“Hello caller, well I’m so sorry but that house has already been sold, but we have a couple of others nearby…..pssst, and one is a pocket listing! When is a good time for you to take a look, would tomorrow at 10am be OK, or would you prefer 2pm?”
Ahh…the old bait and switch. I guess I was looking too deep into it, their motivation was purely cheating to try to get ahead. Doesn’t surprise me one bit!