Three Reasons Why Local is Always Better
The First Reason: We ALWAYS have better Data
Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and all of the other national real estate websites pull data from hundreds of different MLS sources, along with multiple for sale by owner websites and other real estate listing services. They do not pull data from all of these services daily and the amount of data that they process is huge! This means that you may be looking at the perfect house for sale on their site, but it may already be under contract or sold and that information may appear several days or months later. In a market where homes are selling in a day or two, this information delay could cause a homebuyer who is using their site to miss out on the best properties.
Zillow & Trulia’s Giant Database: Zillow has come under major scrutiny over the past few years for their “Zestimate” feature, which generates a homes value for almost every address in the United States. Zillow created an algorithm that pulls recent home sales and current listings to calculate the estimated resale value of a home. The problem is that the algorithm is severely flawed. There is no substitute for a professional market analysis from a local company like Lang Realty to determine a possible price range for listing a house for sale. Even after a comparative market analysis has been performed, even our expert REALTORS® need to visit the property in question to further determine how much the real estate is worth based on the condition of the home in comparison to other local homes for sale. Pricing a home right is a science that is best left to local South Florida Real Estate experts. There will never be a blanket computer algorithm that will be able to correctly determine the resale value of every home in Palm Beach, Broward, or Saint Lucie Counties. It’s just not realistic. In an article entitled, “Are Zillow’s Las Vegas Home Value Estimates Accurate?”, Debbie Drummond analyzed the gap between what a Las Vegas home sold for and what Zillow’s “Zestimate” stated it was worth. The results are surprising as some homes were undervalued by as much as $310,000, or overvalued by as much as $350,000. Kyle Hisock also put together a great article covering the inaccurate Zillow zestimates in Greater Rochester New York, entitled “Zillows Home Value Estimates (Zestimates), Accurate or Not?”. Once again, the results were surprising. In a great article entitled “Are Zillow’s Home Value Estimates Accurate?”, Bill Gassett covers many of the reasons why Zillow’s “zestimates” are often so inaccurate. If you are seeking further information into this topic, all of the above mentioned articles are loaded with great information about Zillow’s inaccurate home value estimate issues. If you need the most accurate, up-to-date real estate information, you’ve come to the best source in South Florida. With the power of 400+ seasoned, professional, real estate experts helping clients search for, buy and sell South Florida real estate, we truly are the leading Real Estate Company in Palm Beach County.
The Second Reason: No Ads!
Annoying Zillow, Trulia, & Realtor.com Advertisements: A good way to test the motivation of a real estate website is to analyze it for advertisements. If there are ads on the website, their motivation for maintaining the website may be less about accurate data and more about ad revenue. Most local real estate websites are run by local REALTORS®. They are platforms for the agents to communicate, inform, and discuss local real estate topics. A good local real estate website will be loaded with plenty of relevant data about your area of interest, and we’ve taken the time to do so. The motivation of Lang Realty to create this data is to connect with people who are interested in local real estate information. When you see advertisements on a real estate website, it typically means that their motivation is more about gaining web traffic to justify high advertising costs. If you have a choice between a real estate website that has advertisements, and one that does not, it just makes sense to go with one that does not, like LangRealty.com.
The Third Reason: Our Site is Run by Local Pros
No ones knows the South Florida real estate market like Lang Realty. We work in the geographic areas of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and Jensen Beach every single day. Neighborhood history, real-time market data, and home buying / selling processes are all everyday discussions for our local real estate professionals. There are so many details involved with finding the right house that you will always benefit from the experience and advice of a good local REALTOR®. The real estate agents that you find on the national real estate websites are usually on there only because they have paid to be there. If you contact an agent while on one these websites, you are simply rolling the dice and hoping that the person who contacts you back is capable of helping you with one of the largest financial transactions you will make. It’s very risky.
Lang Realty provides the highest level of residential real estate services to our clients looking to buy or sell within upscale country club communities and residential neighborhoods throughout Palm Beach County by partnering with the finest real estate agents in the area.
THE BEST WAY TO BUY OR SELL REAL ESTATE IN SOUTH FLORIDA
Our team is dedicated to putting our experience and local knowledge to work for you in all steps of your real estate transaction, from start to finish. Find out why Lang Realty is one of the most respected teams for buying and selling in South Florida. We deliver the very best real estate services in South Florida because you deserve no less. |