Posted on 08/04/2018 1:06:02 PM PDT by AAABEST
Long time broker here. I was stunned a few years ago when Zillow/Trulia got hold of MLS data.
Zillow/Trulia was and remains a dishonest, deceptive business model.
Pfony1 wrote :
“...Why is Facebook a hazard?
IMHO, selling valuable information that has been STOLEN from others should be a crime.
And, IMHO, so should USING the unearned profits from such thefts to build a monopoly...”
In Texas, Zillow gets its info from the property tax appraisal records, such as
which is free to access by anyone.
Where else is Zillow getting its information?
Plenty of realtors negotiate on price. Or you can sell your house yourself. A lot depends on your particular market.
I have had my property listed for sale.
I paid $55,000 FOR THE LAND ONLY.
I got a nasty Zillow comment about “$ XXX,000 for something bought for $55,000? NOT A CHANCE”.
Apparently, Zillow couldn’t understand that the $55,000 recorded t the county represented ONLY the land. NOT the house—garage-—landscaping—& Large animal fencing worth over $140,000.
I have NO respect for Zillow.
That site can be obnoxious. You can't filter out costly intrusive HOAs...So the visitor is forced to go through all these proprieties they don't even want! That's BS.
I disagree with your assessment. We have just concluded a real estate deal 2 weeks ago with a real estate company (not to be named) which left a nasty taste in the mouth. I am not the sue happy kind but I walked away with the notion I will never deal with real estate firms again. I love Zillow. I will sell my property without any real estate firm period.
Sorry, Zillow, Trulia and Redfin are the best thing to ever happen to researching potential homes to purchase in other states. Add in the City-Data.com and NeighborhoodScout.com to look at demographics and crime and you have far more information at your finger tips than any realtor is going to provide to a buyer. Realtors work for the seller and Zillow, Trulia and Redfin are providing the buyer with valuable information to make better decisions. If anything Zillow is the weakest source in the whole list.
I have a hard time accepting what you say.
Zillow has been to the advantage of the buyers and sellers. Here are the reasons:
1) Let’s you research the price previously sold at, when and the taxes. Very good way to avoid flippers or over priced properties.
2) lets you as the owner of a house go in and edit the house for any improvements.
3) Lets you see the days on market, was it pulled off and then put on again and any price adjustments over the listing period(s). Great tool for someone who is a non conditional buyer.
4) Eliminates the need for a buyers agent. I can search the listings and contact the sellers agent when I want to. I note in the last year or so the amount of pictures put up has increased, as those that do not get less traffic. No more crap sent to me or going to see houses that are not what I want, no wasting anyone’s time.
5) Now what you do is contact the selling agent and since they want to get both the buyers and sellers 3% , they will work a bit harder for your sale. Easy way to get their commission reduced by 1 % off the top, friend of mine got the commission reduced to 4.5 %, both he and the seller benefited.
Let’s you as a seller set a price which you know is correct for the market. Much easier to do comps for buyers.
Overall Zillow is a very good tool for the market: it gives you more information. I do not see a down side to it, and I have been involved in 4 house sales/purchases in my life.
“I have a hard time accepting what you say.”
That is fine with me. Don’t even bother to ask about their deceptive business model.
I earned my broker license 28 years ago. The services of a good agent/broker are worth what the seller pays for them.
When you get data from Zillow for free, you get what you pay for.
Do you really think that Zillow would demand information from the NAR that it had ALREADY obtained from “open sources”? I doubt it...
Do you really think that such so-called “open source” information includes the age and condition of a house’s appliances? Or the age and condition of its roof? Or the quality and condition of its landscaping? Or whether the floor plan is “chopped-up” or privacy-free “open”? Or whether its basement floods? Or...? I doubt it...
Zillow may be concerned that its minions slaving away in cube-farms in India to massage the “data” they presently receive from “open sources” in America often produce “Zestimates” that are useless JOKES.
Of course, you are free to prefer alien labor to American labor. And free to trust a easily-obtained “Zestimate” to your own well-considered estimate of value to YOU.
But, IMHO, Zillow makes money the old-fashioned way. It STEALS it.
“And free to trust a easily-obtained “Zestimate” to your own well-considered estimate of value to YOU.”
When the founder/owner/leader of Zillow placed his own property for sale, the Zestimate was off by something like 30 percent. true story.
Ain’t algo rythms sumpin special?
The MLS is not much of a monopoly if Zillow gets as much web traffic as it does.
We love Zillow. Yes, it's a great free service for the buyer, and provides invaluable info for sellers, too.
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