“I found a great home for sale in Trulia,” my client excitedly told me. “Can we see it right away?”
“I’m sorry,” I reluctantly told her. “That house already has an accepted offer.”
Many home buyers have experienced this same disappointment. This is because of two big flaws in the way that real estate sites share information with home buyers.
The first problem relates to the lag time of home listings getting updated on third-party sites like Zillow and Trulia. Boston area real estate agents and brokers get the latest updates on homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service (or MLSPIN), a database that allows them to share information about properties with other agents and brokers. However, many home buyers get information about homes for sale through third-party sites that experience a lag time in receiving these updates. If a new listing is entered for sale or is flagged as having an accepted offer in the Boston-area MLS, it can take 24-48 hours for this information to show up on third-party real estate sites. With buyers anxious to get the latest scoop on new homes for sale, these delays are unacceptable.
The second problem is that home listings aren’t flagged on these sites as being under agreement until all of the home purchase contingencies (home inspection, purchase & sale agreement, mortgage commitment, etc.) are fulfilled. This means that homes are being advertised on these sites for weeks after they already have an accepted offer. This is incredibly frustrating to home buyers because they’re constantly seeing outdated information.
Fortunately, the second problem will be fixed later this month, when the Boston-area MLS changes its home listing rules. As of May 21, homes that have an accepted offer will automatically show up in the MLS as being “under agreement”. In the following months, the MLS will also offer a new home listing status called “contingent” so that home buyers can see if a home has an accepted offer and is still being shown for backup offers. This change will help keep home buyers more informed about the actual status of homes for sale.
However, it still doesn’t eliminate the lag time of new home listings showing up on third-party real estate sites. Typically this wouldn’t be such a huge deal, but right now the number of homes for sale in the Greater Boston area is at an eight-year low and buyers are clamoring to get information about new listings as soon as they hit the market.
If you’re shopping for a home in the area, ask your buyer’s agent to set up a home search for you directly from the Boston MLS so that you’re alerted by email or text message whenever new listings that meet your search criteria come on the market. It’s also a good idea to work with an agent who will proactively search for listings for you, instead of just waiting for new listings to show up in the MLS. Hopefully this will help make the home shopping experience a more positive one.
Reprinted from my MetroWest Daily News column in Metrowest Homes, a real estate resource for residents of Dover, Holliston, Hopkinton, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Westborough, Weston & beyond.
[photo courtesy of Erin Vermeer]
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