For years now there have been a few real estate listing sites that are the “go to” places for buyers and sellers to get La Mesa real estate market information and La Mesa home values…. As of now, it needs to stop. Here is why.
Sites like Zillow, Trulia and Redfin have wrong property information on them and even have properties for sale that don’t even exist. With the recent ‘break-up’ between Zillow and List Hub, these sites are now missing properties in some neighborhoods that ARE available. Zillow is not getting the La Mesa property listing feeds from brokers anymore. Current buyers will miss these opportunities because they have not taken the necessary step of SPEAKING TO A PROFESSIONAL LICENSED REALTOR. In today’s fast paced market, buyers can’t afford to be slow. Properties that are desirable are in escrow by the 4th day of being introduced to the La Mesa real estate market.
How do I know this is happening?
My buyers who I am currently working with are set up on my own personal MLS website system. They get REAL TIME notifications of EVERYTHING that is available in the areas they desire. Yet, they still go on these websites and send me lists of properties they ‘also’ want to see this weekend. When I look up these properties, they either:
A. don’t exist
B. are for rent
or
C. sold 2 years ago
The buyer side, moral of the story is…… if you are interested in buying a home, talk to a La Mesa Realtor. They won’t bite. They only want to help and get you the CORRECT information so you can plan your future. It is a necessary step that you want to have locked down early in your process. The last thing you want to do is find the property you want and then try to talk to a La Mesa Realtor while others are ACTING. You will LOSE OUT on the opportunity.
There is a problem on the seller side as well…. This problem has destroyed so many deals in the past years it’s a shame… the dreaded ‘Zestimate’.
Sellers go on Zillow and look to find out what their home is worth. When they see that number, they are positive it’s correct. Nobody can tell them different, especially if the number is higher than they thought…
These numbers are INCORRECT. Zillow uses a weird algorithm to determine what La Mesa homes are worth. The CEO of Zillow came out in an interview months ago and admitted that most were off my 5%-10%. Even more in some counties. They do not use the appraiser method which is to find 3-5 similar La Mesa properties to the subject that have sold in the past 6 months and take the average… See this LA Times article.
How do I know this is a problem.??
I’ve seen good potential deals fall apart because of this Zestimate. The La Mesa seller receives good offers for fair market value but thinks that the value is what Zillow says and won’t take a penny less. They can’t be told otherwise.. ..
In my La Mesa neighborhood right now, there are 3 potential sellers who feel their property is worth X, when it is really worth Y. They will have a big surprise when it doesn’t sell right away, accumulates market time and they end up selling below real La Mesa market value…
On the buy side…. I had a buyer who was writing an offer on a condo in North Park. It was worth 325K all day. Zillow said it was worth 145K!! She was upset that she needed to offer at least 315k to get it. Fought me tooth and nail… Finally she did. We got the deal and the appraisal came back at 323k! Instant equity! Of course, I didn’t share this with the sellers since I was not representing their interests… She almost didn’t go after the home she wanted because of the Zestimate number…
Again, please, La Mesa home buyers and La Mesa home sellers…. Don’t go on Zillow and these other sites for information. It's not worth your time. Professional La Mesa Realtors like Chris Melingonis are trained and experienced in helping their clients achieve their La Mesa and Mount Helix real estate goals. We have access to the CORRECT information in the area YOU are interested in.