Analyzing Local Market DNA - Trulia, Zillow can't compete
Posted Apr 2, 2007 @ 9:38 pm, Viewed by 621 Visitors, Read 627 Times.
I had a chance to read an interview in Realtor Magazine - April 2007 with NAR chief economist David Lereah, and I think he had some great insight into the reason why much of the real estate market began to forget about the localization of real estate market.
It's important to have the help of a real estate agent to analyze the market "DNA" of subdivisions, as so many other factors tailor in to the pricing of real estate. Necessities such as grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, then statistics like median income and crime rate will all tailor in to analyzing the trend of a neighborhood.
You then have to factor in the sellers and buyer needs, or their "win" in their transaction. I'm taken back to a lecture given by my real estate broker early on. You can have two identical homes in the same neighborhood priced completely different, based solely on your client's needs - timing being the most important.
Today's real estate buyers are suffering from a lack of confidence, which certainly doesn't help by the media hype up-playing the depreciation of recent booming markets. What real estate consumers must remember is that markets, down to the subdivision, are different in relation with each other. To pool them all together as one entity is simply illogical. One can make general conclusions about markets in metro-level views, but that conclusion is just that: generalized. For my real estate purchase, and sale, I want to make sure that I can get an accurate evaluation, not just a generalized one.
In summary, though real estate sites such as Trulia and Zillow are great attempts to change the way a real estate market researches and makes decisions on real estate, they will not be replacements for real estate agents in any near future. Sites such as this are simply in the limelight due to the lack of confidence in consumers reaching out for answers to a seemingly falling market.
One should make it a point to consult with a trusted real estate professional before making any generalizations on any real estate market as a whole. Only then can a true conclusion be drawn on your local real estate market.
--
Steven Castaneda, Realtor, is a real estate consultant with the MyHomeHouston team at Keller Williams Realty in Houston, Texas. He has been consulting on Houston Texas Real Estate transactions for 2.5 years, and focuses on coaching his clients to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible with their real estate investments.
During the boom, people forgot about the fundamentals and started seeing real estate as a single market.
In response to a question from the interviewer about why it's important to dig deeper than the metro-area level for market distinctions, Lereah responded:
...that's why the role of Realtors and lenders is so critical.Essentially what I learned is that real estate sites like Zillow and Trulia, though great tools to look at, really don't help the real estate consumer besides showing them a general overview of a given market - if even accurate.
It's important to have the help of a real estate agent to analyze the market "DNA" of subdivisions, as so many other factors tailor in to the pricing of real estate. Necessities such as grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, then statistics like median income and crime rate will all tailor in to analyzing the trend of a neighborhood.
You then have to factor in the sellers and buyer needs, or their "win" in their transaction. I'm taken back to a lecture given by my real estate broker early on. You can have two identical homes in the same neighborhood priced completely different, based solely on your client's needs - timing being the most important.
Today's real estate buyers are suffering from a lack of confidence, which certainly doesn't help by the media hype up-playing the depreciation of recent booming markets. What real estate consumers must remember is that markets, down to the subdivision, are different in relation with each other. To pool them all together as one entity is simply illogical. One can make general conclusions about markets in metro-level views, but that conclusion is just that: generalized. For my real estate purchase, and sale, I want to make sure that I can get an accurate evaluation, not just a generalized one.
In summary, though real estate sites such as Trulia and Zillow are great attempts to change the way a real estate market researches and makes decisions on real estate, they will not be replacements for real estate agents in any near future. Sites such as this are simply in the limelight due to the lack of confidence in consumers reaching out for answers to a seemingly falling market.
One should make it a point to consult with a trusted real estate professional before making any generalizations on any real estate market as a whole. Only then can a true conclusion be drawn on your local real estate market.
--
Steven Castaneda, Realtor, is a real estate consultant with the MyHomeHouston team at Keller Williams Realty in Houston, Texas. He has been consulting on Houston Texas Real Estate transactions for 2.5 years, and focuses on coaching his clients to make the most informed and intelligent decision possible with their real estate investments.
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