Millions of users can’t be wrong… can they?
*Yahoo! Real Estate reportedly attracts over 5 million unique visitors per month.
* All the Yahoo! Network is one of the most trafficked Internet destinations in the world.
* The Yahoo! The network reportedly reaches 88% of homebuyers and 84% of homeowners.
For general real estate information and news, I’d like to point out that Yahoo is a wonderful resource. I search for myself here when I search for certain information and include myself as part of your network statistics. Real estate portals like Yahoo, Trulia, and Zillow are great for getting started and gathering general real estate information, how-to guides, topics like jobs, demographics, latest loan rates, etc.
BUT… when I need to search in a particular area, like Santa Barbara, local real estate information and house hunting, I’ve learned that Yahoo and the others only go so far. In essence, they’re portals and a directory that should take you somewhere more specific, like a blog by a hard-working local realtor who has his real pulse on all things local.
Okay… so you still like the look of these sites, knowing “others” use them, the random survey in the sidebar, the paid ads flashing at you… who knows? BUT… Are you really getting from them what you are finally looking for?
* All Ads for Sale
* Information on Past Sales to Draw Comparisons
* True local knowledge on numerous topics related to your decision
Let’s take a look at the first point… the listings themselves.
The local Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the only database that will have all the homes that are listed by all real estate brokers in the city. The only way to access all of this in the Santa Barbara CA area is to contact a real estate agent or use a local IDX from a real estate agent’s site. This will give you the closest guarantee of seeing everything that is out there. That being said, there are also pocket listings that are constantly available in cities like Santa Barbara and Montecito, as well as big houses (big buys) that sell before they even go on the market and/or hit the local MLS.
Here’s a look at the listings available on Yahoo when you type “Santa Barbara CA” into the search box vs. a local IDX: (for August 22, 2009)
Yahoo real estate listings for all single family homes and condos:
*Santa Barbara – 435
* Schooner – 61
* Montecito – 435…simply includes Santa Barbara and is not broken out at all
* Carpentry – 66
* Hope Ranch – does not exist
Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice IDX Listings for all single-family homes and condos:
*Santa Barbara – 465
* Schooner – 203
* Montecito – 290…legitimate Montecito listings
* Carpentry – 161
* Hope Ranch – 4
The Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice IDX that I have on my blog as a member of the local Santa Barbara MLS is a direct data feed from MLS. It’s also been carefully arranged to truly represent the exact areas of our city… very few of the groupings and overlaps that often occur on sites like Yahoo and Zillow.
If you want the best chance to see everything that is on the market here in the Santa Barbara area and not miss more than 20-30% of the homes listed in our area, not counting pocket and upcoming listings big purchases, you should contact a good, ethical and hard-working real estate agent. You’ll simply get much more accurate, comprehensive, and actionable information from a local IDX and hard-working real estate agent than doing it yourself on a large aggregate site.
Once you’re ready, start receiving listings that meet only your specific needs… very important. Stop pulling information from the internet and spending all your time searching. Instead, send the information via automated emails to your inbox and a real estate agent who is attentive to your needs, etc.
Regarding the second point… past sales comparisons. This can only be provided to you through the local MLS that agents have access to. On major portals, you’ll only get active listings for sale, so you won’t be able to compare any previous sales.
As for the 3rd point…true local knowledge. Feel free to contact me directly with any questions or needs and/or browsing my site as much as you would like to learn about our area is great detail. I have written and continue to write about our town, the real estate business, local thoughts, etc.