Most popular consumer real estate search engines show homebuyers only a fraction of the homes that are on the market, according to a recent study commissioned by Roost.com and conducted by the WAV Group.
Real estate searches on popular sites in three sample markets — Miami, Dallas and San Diego — failed to provide users with as much as 92 percent of available listings in their home searches. In Dallas and Miami, both Trulia and Zillow displayed about 50 percent of the listings.
Top-line findings in the detailed study showed some aggregator sites with accuracy rates as low as 8 percent. In Dallas, Google fared best among aggregators by displaying 56 out of 81 possible listings (69 percent accuracy).
The study also found that many of the listings are inaccurate or out of date.
The most accurate source of listing information is the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS), the study concluded. The MLS is the real estate industry standard database for sharing information on local homes for sale and is available only to licensed real estate agents and brokers; all the listings on the MLS are derived from local agents and brokers.
Source: RISMedia