Do zillow and trulia have accurate information?

[Mary R.]

I came across some OLD info regarding zillow and trulia (Dec 2012) "...stop searching for real estate on nationwide portals like Trulia and Zillow! ..."

 https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2012/12/2...

Is this still true, or have they corrected this situation? Is information, at least as availability and up to date listings are concerned? 

[Christopher Phillips]

@Mary R.

Yes. It's still true. I've seen delays of a week or more for syndication from the MLS to Zillow or Realtor.com

And, you'll notice that it doesn't always syndicate out to every website at the same time. 

Only about 1/3 of the MLS's around the country automatically syndicate to Zillow. It will depend on local MLS dynamics with the the consumer sites. So, agents have to make sure it uploads properly or they have to manually upload the listing.

[Matt Gibson]

@Christopher Phillips So is the biggest issue that they are incomplete (e.g., missing listings) and slow to update when something comes off the market? Or are there other issues to be aware of? Thanks!

[Christopher Phillips]

@Matt Gibson

Each area has its quirks. Some areas Realtor.com data is better than Zillow data or vice versa.

Some areas have non disclosure issues like Texas. So, you can't get good data since many sellers want to hide their prices after a sale.

The other issue is that owners can claim a property on Zillow and manipulate the data. They can unintentionally add things or leave things out. So, you always have to verify all information.

Also, on occasion, public record data like notices of default, listing dates, sold dates, can be behind or entirely not correct. There can a 6-9 month delay in some areas for updating the county clerk records.

And many agents are notorious for not updating their listings. So, you call up and it's "under contract."

So, as with anything, you have to verify things.

[Matt Gibson]

Very helpful, @Christopher Phillips . Thank you!

[Mary R.]

Yes, thanks. I see Zillow no longer shows street views. Is there a site that does?