Stick to a Texas REALTOR®: Why Some Online Real Estate Sites Leave Buyers and Sellers Wanting

Fact: In a sellers’ market, sellers waste valuable time when they price a home based on inaccurate data and ultimately have to adjust the asking price.

Fact: Buyers waste valuable time when they fall in love with homes no longer on the market!

Looking for a ranch-style dream home in Steiner Ranch? This summer, the Texas Association of REALTORS® is reminding Austin Texans that, though there’s a boat-load of real estate information on the Internet, not all of it is trustworthy.

“Sellers will gain maximum exposure for their listing with it in the MLS,” said Cathy Coneway, 2013 Chairman of the Austin Board of REALTORS®. And with June 2013 marking the highest level of home sales for June in the last six years, those numbers “combined with the fast pace of home sales in the area means buyers will greatly benefit from using a REALTOR® who has access to the most up-to-date information in the MLS.”

For accurate real estate data, ask a Texas REALTOR®. Need convincing? Here’s some evidence from a 2012 Redfin study conducted by the WAV Group …

1. More than one in three homes (36 percent) listed on real estate portal websites are no longer available, and inaccurate listing prices vary by 20 percent or more.

2. Home listing sources vary widely in reliability. Real estate portal websites provide significantly less accurate data than data offered by real estate professionals.

3. On average, these websites were found to be missing 20 percent of the available homes for sale within an area.

4. Many of the homes for sale appear on these sites seven to nine days after they go on the market.

5. The vast majority of local MLS systems offer real-time data. Real estate brokerage websites (REALTOR® websites like RegentPG.com) are fed by MLS data and updated with current listing information as often as every 15 minutes!

For the most accurate, reliable information about the ATX housing market, ask your local Texas REALTORS® at Regent Property Group!

The agents at Regent Property Group help Texas home-buyers stay on top of the latest in ATX home listings and prices. Looking for a lake front home in Eanes ISD or a home in Falcon Pointe? Try Austin Home Search! Regent PG agents stand ready to assist you.