Millions of users can’t be wrong … or can they?
* Yahoo! Real Estate reportedly attracts more than 5 million unique visitors per month.
* All Yahoo! Network is one of the busiest Internet destinations in the world.
* The Yahoo! The Network reportedly reaches 88% of home buyers and 84% of homeowners.
For general real estate news and information, I’d like to point out that Yahoo is a wonderful resource. I search here myself when looking for certain information and include myself as part of your network statistics. Real estate portals like Yahoo, Trulia, and Zillow are great to get you started with and for gathering general real estate information, how-to guides, topics like jobs, demographics, the latest loan rates, and more.
BUT … when I need to search a particular area, like Santa Barbara, for local real estate information and home searches, I’ve learned that Yahoo! and the others only go so far. In essence, they are portals and a directory that should take you somewhere more specific, like a blog from a hard-working local realtor who has his true pulse on everything local.
Ok … so you still like the look of these sites, knowing that “others” use them, the random poll in the sidebar, the paid ads flashing in front of you … who knows? OBJECTIVE … Are you really getting from them what you are ultimately looking for?
* All listings for sale
* Information on past sales to make comparisons
* True local knowledge on numerous topics related to your decision
Let’s take a look at the first point … the listings themselves.
The Santa Barbara Local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the only database that will have all the homes listed by all the real estate brokers in the city. The only way to access all of this in the Santa Barbara CA area is to be in contact with 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. With that said, there are also pocket listings that are constantly available in cities like Santa Barbara and Montecito, as well as great homes (great buys) that sell even before they are marketed and / or hit the local MLS.
Here’s a look at the listings available on Yahoo when you type “Santa Barbara CA” in the search box vs. a local IDX: (as of August 22, 2009)
Yahoo Real Estate Listings for All Single Family Homes and Condos:
* Santa Barbara – 435
* Gulet – 61
* Montecito – 435 … just includes Santa Barbara and is not itemized 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
* Gulet – 203
* Montecito – 290 … legitimate Montecito listings
* Carpentry – 161
* Hope Ranch – 4
The Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice IDX that I blog as a member of the local Santa Barbara MLS is a direct data source from the MLS. It has also been carefully arranged to truly represent the exact areas of our city … very little clustering and overlapping that often occurs on sites like Yahoo! and Zillow.
If you want the best opportunity to see everything that is on the market here in the Santa Barbara area and not miss more than 20-30% of the homes that are listed in our area, not counting the pocket listings and the next big purchases. You should contact a good, ethical and hard-working real estate agent. You will simply get much more accurate, complete and practical information from a local IDX and hardworking real estate agent than doing it on your own on a large aggregate site.
Once you’re ready, start receiving listings that meet only your specific needs … hugely important. Stop extracting information from the Internet and spending all your time searching. Instead, receive information via automated emails in your inbox and a real estate agent to take care of 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 the main portals, you will only get active listings for sale, so you will not be able to compare any past sales.
Regarding 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 city, the real estate business, local thoughts, etc.