Michael Corbett for Trulia on Fox News

I've been writing for a while now about the true mission of Zillow and Trulia:  increase visitors to their websites by using unreliable real estate data.  And every time I see Michael Corbett for Trulia on TV, especially on Fox and Friends on Fox News, the misinformation really gets my blood boiling.

Today Corbett, grinning former soap opera actor, featured 3 homes from Trulia:

1) Nashville, TN  3 br, 2.5 bath for $239,900.  The featured home is not available on Realtor.com using that exact search criteria.

2) Raleigh, NC  3 br, 2.5 bath for $285,000.  This featured home is not available on Realtor.com using that exact search criteria.

3) Plano, TX  4 br, 3.5 bath for $275,000.  Realtor.com indicates ZERO homes for sale using that criteria.

He then goes on to cite the "Trulia Price Trend" reports.  Unfortunately for Corbett, according to a study, Zillow and Trulia have 78% of the total listings for sale as Realtor.com, the only real estate portal that gets listings directly from the National Association of Realtors.  On top of that, 17% of Zillow and Trulia listings are not for sale in the local MLS.

Link to the study:  http://www.inman.com/2013/03/06/accuracy-zillow-trulia-listing-data-under-fire-again/#.U2AqIvldWlI

Trulia and Zillow cannot cite reliable real estate price trends when they only have 3/4 of available data, and 17% of their existing data is corrupt.

Read more on my website:  http://www.davidbarrhomes.com/#!debunking-zillow-sarasota/cftb

Comments

  1. CristinMay 6, 2014 at 10:14 AM

    David -

    Cristin from Trulia here. All of the above claims are false - each of these homes are for sale and active on the MLS. On top of that, for every home we feature on Fox, we talk to each of listing agents prior to featuring their homes, and they give us permission and confirm the homes are for sale. Every single listing agent for these homes happily allowed their for-sale listings to be showcased on national TV.

    You claim the homes are not for sale on Realtor.com, but that is also false:

    Nashville: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/632-Indian-Ridge-Dr_Nashville_TN_37221_M74941-04062?source=web
    Plano: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/6824-Pentridge-Dr_Plano_TX_75024_M77221-77989?source=web
    Raleigh: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4744-Sandy-Bay-Cir_Raleigh_NC_27603_M63994-65859?source=web

    Here is the Trulia Trends report that Michael was citing: http://www.trulia.com/trends/2014/04/price-and-rent-monitors-mar-2014/

    As always, thanks for tuning in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. David Barr's Venice and Sarasota Real Estate BlogMay 19, 2014 at 6:52 PM

      Of course you say my claims are false. I used the criteria provided on Fox and Friends to search Realtor.com. These homes did not appear and are not the same homes profiled by Corbett.

      The fact you provide no MLS numbers nor attribution to the listing agent on-air is further proof Trulia operates at the margins of reliable real estate information.

      Delete
    2. David Barr's Venice and Sarasota Real Estate BlogMay 19, 2014 at 6:54 PM

      And on further investigation, the home in Plano is not available for sale, per my original assertion. I don't need to spend more time investigating Trulia misinformation.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Real Estate Advertising Online

The Facebook IPO got me thinking about their future, and how it will affect Google and online advertising as a whole. I don't get Facebook mania.  In my opinion, there's a lot better things to do in life.  GM recently cancelled plans to spend $10 million to advertise on Facebook because they got disappointing results.  I can't see Facebook users clicking on ads when they are chatting with friends or playing games. Does anyone feel like social marketing is being shoved down our throats?  Advertising on Facebook and Twitter has yet to produce impressive results for most companies.  However, social media does play a meaningful role, in my opinion, in driving traffic to a website. Here is a fascinating graphic comparison of advertising on Facebook versus Google, which you can read here:  http://bit.ly/JHJ5LR So why am I blogging about this? As much as many in the real estate industry in Sarasota want to deny it, the days of Open Houses, magazine ads,...
Read more

List Your Home for Sale | Sarasota FL | David Barr Realtor

Image
A survey by the National Asociation of Realtors shows that over 70% of home sellers talk to one agent when they list their home for sale. As a Sarasota FL area home owner, it's time to do more research when selecting the right Realtor to list your home for sale. We are seeing a huge number of homes go off the MLS once listed, and it's usually due to being overpriced.  Has your Sarasota home listing expired , after sitting on the market for weeks and months, with showings but no offers? Make one more call to me, and find out how my targeted approach will produce a buyer.  People searching online for a home (94% of home buyers) in your specific neighborhood or condo building is the best type of buyer.  Think about it:  buyers searching for "sarasota fl real estate" are not at the end of their discovery journey.  A buyer looking at targeted properties will prevent a horde of tire kickers in your home, and will reduce the time it takes to sell your home....
Read more

2nd Quarter Real Estate Sales Statistics | Sarasota FL | David Barr Broker Associate

Image
Sarasota real estate statistics for 2nd Quarter 2019 are available.  The market continues to experience positive growth. Two categories are worth further analysis.  First, median time to contract increased 26% over last year.  I believe this is due to home buyers from up north cushioning or extending the closing date on their Florida property, so their current residence can sell.  This in return is affecting median time to sale. The second is median percent of original list price received.  There's a lot to dissect here.  Over priced listings aren't selling, and aren't reflected in this stat.  We call these expired listings.  If the property is priced according to the market, it's remained a steady 5% off list price for quite some time.  Every property is different, but use this number as a guide for what to expect. Contact me for expert pricing and marketing for your Sarasota area home for sale.
Read more