In this day of technology and information at your fingertips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year, smart home buyers almost always go online to do their initial research. Online real estate sites offer up a wealth of knowledge, as long as you know where to look. Generally speaking, there are two types of online websites that wise home buyers may want to check out. One is national and the other is local. Both have unique insights and perspectives, but they do not give you the same information on the latest trending topics in real estate. Nor do they give you all the answers to many of your questions in your quest to find the perfect house.
1. National Online Real Estate Sites
Zillow has been around for years and they’re not slowing down any time soon. They recently merged with Trulia, causing them to now have an even larger hold on the market. While this website is a useful tool and resource most of the time, it also has it's limitations. What are those limitations you ask? Let’s go through them.
THE CONS:
-Zestimates
A measure of worth that is at most only mediocre in accuracy . The algorithms are hit and miss, depending on which market you are looking at. Real Estate is not always an equation, but they sure try to make it seem like it is. Zestimates take into account a lot of information and try to come up with a useful number for property values. Problem with these calculations is they don’t always get the most accurate data to plug in. Two major problems that stem from this: 1. Buyers making offers based on the zestimate (lower than asking,) and 2. Sellers thinking their home is worth significantly more than it actually is.
-Recent sales
To access sales data, Zillow and other websites must purchase that information from the different Multiple Listing Services (MLS) providers. When those agreements are terminated, Zillow is left with big holes in its data causing its listings to be out of date. This has a major effect on all of their offerings, especially the zestimates. How can you accurately tell someone the worth of a property if you don't have all the data? You can't. For example Zillow lost its contact with one of the MLS providers in April. Take a look at their site and compare it to something like Redfin and you'll see the differences.
-Mortgage rates
Zillow will typically display rates at last 0.5% lower than other sites to try and pull you in. Everyone loves a great rate, but having quick rates that are super low with lots of hidden small print and fees is misleading. Not much to say here other than read the reviews and be wary of rates that seem just too good to be true.
THE GOOD:
-Calculators
If you can get past the numerous advertisements from lenders you will find some useful tools, like the calculator. They do a pretty good job of determining how much you can purchase and what your payments will be.
My best advice: for good calculators use Zillow, and for good, accurate information use LOCAL websites.
2. LOCAL Emerald Isle online real estate web sites.
Once you have a focus and more defined areas of interest that you can maybe glean from a national website, , it just makes sense to put your focus into a more local perspective. After all, all real estate is local. The price of a home in Emerald Isle, NC and NOTHING in common with the price of a home in Charleston, SC although both are coastal communities on the East Coast, separated by only a couple hundred miles. The key to turning your realty dreams into reality is to search the local real estate companies' websites in your area of interest to capture unique insights about your new community and to obtain accurate, up to date data essential to making the home buying process in Emerald Isle and elsewhere a success.
Like many other real estate companies, my website has a dedicated blog section on the site, which can offer up valuable information on the area you're researching, current local trends, and area-specific topics you may be interested in. And, like some other real estate companies I have social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to name a few, and that they are well worth following as they provide many of the latest updates and current information. I write a new blog and post about movingto Emerald Isle, NC every day.
And, unlike all other agents I ave my own you tube channel. This channel focuses on everything you need to know about moving to Emerald Isle, NC and the processes required to turn your realty dreams into reality.
My website, blogs and videos have two purposes. First, I want to provide customers and clients interested in moving to Emerald Isle knowledge about our local real estate market. Knowledge is power. Second, these blogs and videos introduce me to you! That is important because you will need a local Emerald Isle real estate agent to make certain your realty dreams turn into reality and not nightmares.
3. Knowledgeable Emerald Isle Real Estate Agent in Your Area of Interest
After researching online, both in general and on a local level,the next step is to contact is a real estate professional in your area of interest and that would be me!. Professional, reputable real estate agents, like me, are a huge asset and priceless resource in your home-buying adventure. You need a personal contact with day-to-day experience in the place you are potentially going to call home. Real estate professionals, like me, can give you more in-depth answers to to your questions and site-specific details that you won't find anywhere else. Let me guide you along the way and help you navigate the finer points of home buying. You'll be glad you did!
When you are ready to embark on purchasing real estate in Emerald Isle, call or text me at 919-308-2292 or send an email to: DRaczkowski@fathomrealty.com. I have a book "Live Where You Vacation" to give you.
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