Why Searching For Homes On Zillow Is A Bad Idea
If you’re a buyer who has ever tried searching for a property on a mass market site like Zillow, Trulia, or Realtor.com, you know how incredibly frustrating it can be. You get all excited about a home you’ve found only to be left disappointed because it’s actually sold or no longer on the market. Or you might have made the mistake of putting your contact information into one of these sites and suddenly you’re bombarded with calls, not only from realtors but also from robots!
My name is John Gluch and I’m the team leader of the Gluch Group. We’ve been helping people buy and sell homes for 20 years and have sold over a thousand properties during that time. We would love to save you the frustration of looking at already sold homes on Zillow and, instead, make your home search experience both enjoyable and successful.
In this blog post, I will explain why it’s a bad idea to search for properties on mass market realtor websites like Zillow and Realtor.com. I will give you a far better plan, which will help you find more properties with less hassle. Not only will this method save you a great deal of time, effort, and heartache, but it will also protect you from being harrassed by realtors you don’t know. Read on to learn more!
The Multiple Listing System Versus Mass Market Sites
The Multiple Listing System, or MLS, is a central database where all realtors, including us, list all the properties they have available for sale. It is the place to get all the most accurate and up-to-date information. Since the MLS has all the information, mass market sites like Zillow pull data from it to populate their listings. Keep this in mind: No one actually lists their property for sale on Zillow and Zillow makes money by selling your information to realtors.
So, how do you get access to the MLS? Through a realtor of course! When you ask us at the Gluch Group to help you with your home search, we will give you a personalized portal that gives you direct access to the MLS system.
Why You Need to Be Searching on the MLS and Not Zillow
Here’s why searching for a home using your own MLS portal is far better than using a mass market site like Zillow.
- You won’t be bombarded with calls from realtors trying to solicit your business
If you have ever put your contact details into a form on Zillow to request more information about a property, you know that this is a mistake. Within minutes, you are inundated with phone calls from realtors who are looking to solicit your business. The reason we know this is that our realtors make these calls as well! When we get contact information from Realtor.com, we immediately call the potential client to answer their questions, schedule a time to show them the property, and offer to help them find more properties they may be interested in. While these calls may be well-intentioned, they can be annoying to you, the customer. Putting your details into a site like Zillow means that your contact information will be sold to numerous realtors and possibly even companies that will use robo-dialing and text messaging to solicit your business.
- You’ll get more relevant and accurate information
Since Zillow and other mass market sites pull data from the MLS, their information is often out of date or inaccurate. I have heard countless stories of homebuyers who get excited about a listing they found on Zillow or Realtor.com, only to find out that the property was actually sold or had been taken off the market. When you use the personalized MLS portal we provide, you can be confident that you are always seeing accurate, up-to-date information that is relevant to you.
- You’ll see a broader scope of properties
Searching through an MLS portal also allows you to see properties that are not listed on mass market sites. On Zillow, you only see properties that are in “Active” or “Under Contract” status. You don’t see what’s coming soon or temporarily off the market because these sites simply don’t pull this data from the MLS. In the current market, where there are many more buyers than there are homes available for sale, being able to see more properties, such as those that are coming soon, significantly increases your chances of success.
Another smart way to search for properties is to look at those that are under contract contingent on buyer sale. These are properties that are currently under contract, but the buyer needs to sell their house before they can close on the property they want to buy. These tend to be tenuous deals that often fall apart since the seller would probably be happy to sell to another buyer, such as you, who can close the deal more quickly. Once again, mass market sites don’t pull properties in this status from the MLS, and you would only get access to this information through a personalized MLS portal provided by a realtor.
- You’ll get a dedicated realtor who you can trust
When you choose to work with the Gluch Group team, our first priority is to get to know you. We will take the time to find out exactly what your needs and wants are, what kind of property you are looking for, and what’s most important to you. Armed with this information, we will be better able to help you find a property you like. Rather than dealing with a bunch of phone calls from realtors you don’t know, you will have one point of contact who you know and trust to show you properties and assist you throughout the home search and buying process.
- You’ll get access to exclusive information that no one else knows about
As locals to the Scottsdale and Phoenix areas, we have our finger on the pulse of the market. We are in contact with property owners who are interested in selling their home but, for some reason or another, have not yet listed it on the market. We record this information in our Secret Seller Map, which is not held on any website and is only available to Gluch Group clients. If one of the properties on this map is right for you and the timing is right, we may be able to help you buy it before it even gets listed! Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Contact the Gluch Group Team Today
Save yourself the frustration of looking at already sold homes on Zillow and other mass market sites. We’ll give you fast and easy insight into relevant information and properties that no one else knows about. Let us know how we can help you. Call us, email us, or contact us online today!
