The insider’s guide to online home search
Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com…
Does it matter?
There are tens of thousands of home search websites and apps. You probably know Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin. But there are so many more, including our own The Farrell Group at REAL Broker home search.
Which is the best? Do some sites or apps have more listings than others? How does a company like Zillow make money, anyway?
We’re going to tell you, everything, straight up. Including this: Our The Farrell Group at REAL Broker search is good, but we’re more than happy if you use one of the well-known apps. Just be aware of the important details below — important details many companies are happy to have you not know!
Helping you find homes is among the least important things an agent will do for you
Very occasionally, an agent will hear about a “coming soon” listing that has yet to hit the market, and sometimes sellers that do not wish to have their home displayed online for privacy reasons.
But these things are rare. It is almost always the case that the homes you see for sale online are the same homes your agent sees. At The Farrell Group at REAL Broker, our true value lies in helping our clients evaluate homes (reading disclosures, interpreting inspection reports, walking through homes together, estimating repair costs) and negotiating the best terms possible with sellers. Buying a home is a big deal. Our #1 job is making sure you get it right.
“Our true value lies in helping our clients evaluate homes (reading disclosures, interpreting inspection reports, walking through homes together, estimating repair costs) and negotiating the best terms possible with sellers.”
Pretty much every search site has pretty much all the listings
Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, us…we all get our listings from the same place: The Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. The MLS is the local database of homes for sale that real estate agents use. There are over 400 MLSs in the United States, and they account for almost all homes for sale at any given time.
This means that the search results you see on our site will be the same as what you will see on most any other home search app or site.
But not all home search experiences are the same
Which user experience you prefer is up to you. Some prioritize searching on a map; others default to showing results as a list. Some are simple; some offer every feature imaginable.
The most meaningful differences lie in the business model of the company behind the search. For example, Zillow and Realtor.com do not actually help people buy and sell homes, so when you click a button on a listing that says “contact agent” or “schedule showing” you are referred out to a real estate agent who has a relationship with Zillow or Realtor.com. In some cases, these sites charge agents a fee equal to as much as 35% of the commission the agent earns on the transaction. That’s money that comes out of the buyer’s pocket, but the search sites don’t tell you that unless you click deeply into their terms of use.
Redfin’s search app is great — it’s easy to use, fast, and loaded with content. So use it, but be aware that when you click to schedule a showing you are often being connected with a “door opener”, a person with a real estate license who actually doesn’t help people transact and may have little or no experience. Again, this is not something that is clearly disclosed.
When you search on The Farrell Group at REAL Broker site, your showing requests go to a member of The Farrell Group at REAL Broker’s team—an experienced, highly trained agent prepared to help you navigate every aspect of a real estate transaction.
“Buying a home is a big deal. Our #1 job is making sure you get it right.”
The bottom line
We tell our clients to use the search site or app they like best, but to coordinate showings and other offline functions with me or Kim. This ensures that they are getting the best possible guidance throughout the home buying process.
