Zillow® is an amazing real estate tool! It is user friendly, it is extremely informational, it is easy on the eyes, and there appears to be an infinite number of listings. But, I've always wondered why Zillow® listings are so jacked up. Zillow® has so many listings that are non-existent, expired, rented or sold. Is it Zillow's® fault?
I believe I may have found the answer. These listings may be The Roadrunner and if you are looking, you are Wile E Coyote!
A couple days ago I received a group of condo's to check out on behalf of my client. We have been working together on finding he, his wife and son the perfect condo for a couple month's, and it's down to decision time. He sent me about 18 addresses he found on Zillow®. Most we had already seen before and I had some in his maybe file, but a couple were new and only on Zillow®.
After going over his list of condo's for rent, I noticed something. About half were on Zillow® only. The other half were on both Zillow® and the MLS®. I also noticed, 8 out of 10 Zillow® only listings, were listed with a Realtor®, yet I couldn't find them on the MLS®. There was 2 listed by the owners of the properties and not with a Realtor®.
I wondered why 8 were on Zillow® with a Realtor® and why they were not on the MLS® too?
I researched the Zillow® only listings first. What I noticed is the 8 condo's that were on Zillow® and not on the MLS® were either expired, rented or sold. The 2 listings by the owners and all the MLS® listings, were truly available for lease.
So you say, "Whatever, they just didn't get removed yet". Great answer! Seems logical, but some of them were "just listed"!
Is Zillow's® computers randomly doing this to make Zillow® look like a larger data base?
Which of these 2 causes are most logical?
1. Computers make up data
2. People sometimes input data incorrectly.
If you choose #1, please turn off your computer. You don't deserve to own one!
Let's consider #2. After completing a rental or sale, could someone accidentally input the entire listing over again by accident? If you say yes, please turn off your computer. You don't deserve one!
So, why would there be so many freshly posted listings put into the Zillow® system that are expired, leased or sold?
I'll use a quote from Rush Limbaugh. "Follow the money".
The MLS® system is heavily regulated. The data must be entered correctly and timely. If an error is discovered or a property goes under contract, the MLS® has this very strict protocol. If an error is found or change in status is needed, and it is not corrected extremely fast, the listing agent will receive a fine. If the request is not followed, or it happens several times, the Realtor® could loose access to the MLS®
Zillow® has you check a box that says you agree that the listing is real and does not have such strict adherence requirements.
Consider, if you owned a property and you sold it, wouldn't you want to remove the listing, so that you wouldn't have to keep answering the phone and explaining it's sold? Would a real estate agent feel the same way?
Earlier I mentioned, some of these sold, expired or leased listings were "just listed"! Is it just a coincidence, that these "just listed" listings were at popular condo's and priced below market too?
I'm not pointing any fingers, but I feel that Zillow® might be being used for the classic "bait and switch"! For a real estate agent, this may be considered acceptable. But for a Realtor®, this is forbidden. We are to hold to a set of standards that rise above this deceptive practice and hold to the highest standard of integrity.
This situation is causing consumer anxiety. Buyers come to me exasperated, saying they just keep missing the greatest deal. The "greatest deal" was the Roadrunner and you are Wile E. Coyote! Wile E. never gets the bird. Quit being Wile E. Coyote! Hire a Realtor®!
If you are in the market to buy, lease or sell a property, seek the help of a Realtor® like me!
Let's get to work!
Curtis Rudolph Realtor®
