David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

On today's June 20th edition of Fox and Friends, Michael Corbett again appeared for his regular Friday "report" on affordable homes from Trulia. The problem, as I have documented in the past, is that few if any of the homes Corbett profiles on Fox and Friends are actually available for sale.  Fox News may finally be getting it; the segment seemed noticeably shorter today. Here are the homes Corbett profiled on Fox and Friends: 1) Charlotte, NC: $199,000, 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2000 sq ft colonial style brick front.  Realtor.com shows zero homes for sale in Charlotte with these exact parameters. 2) Huntsville, AL: $200,000, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2000 sq ft brick front ranch.  Once again, zero homes found for sale in Huntsville on Realtor.com 3) Tyler, TX: $187,500, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1600 sq ft, cottage style home.  Zero homes in Tyler are for sale fitting this description on Realtor.com As I have previously outlined on this blog, a study by Inman fou...

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 rea...

This morning I was subjected to the idiotic choreographed grinning of Trulia's "real estate expert", former soap opera star Michael Corbett. There's no doubt Trulia and it's competitor Zillow are expert at marketing themselves as the go-to source for real estate information.  But nothing is further from the truth. Take today's example of Corbett's segment on Fox and Friends.  He picked three examples of some "great real estate deals" in different parts of the country, ostensibly from Trulia's suspect list of homes for sale. Two of the three homes he showcased were not for sale on Trulia's website. Read how Trulia, and to a greater extent, it's competitor Zillow, does business and why:   www.davidbarrhomes.com/debunking_zillow