Zillow, Trulia lose luster with U.S. brokers

Some real estate agents in the U.S. are choosing not to list the properties they are marketing on national aggregation websites like Zillow.com and Trulia.com.

Though the sites garner significant traffic — Zillow attracted 32 million visitors in January — the Fiscal Times reported brokerages have grown tired of the inaccurate information the sites unwittingly purvey. They complain that Zillow and Trulia frequently publish incorrect property details, maintain duplicate listings, fail to update the sales status of a property and allow agents to pay to put their name and photo next to listings that aren’t necessarily their own. Those features combine to confuse, and ultimately frustrate, buyers. Worse, they harm agents’ reputations.

The Fiscal Times mentioned several brokerages nationwide who have decided to take their listings off the sites, and they have supporting data that shows it would have little impact. “It would only take a few good-sized brokers in every community before these sites either drastically changed how they do business or went away altogether,” said Jim Abbott, a broker from San Diego.

However, Zillow noted that its most viewed properties sell faster and closer to asking price than do listings that aren’t as frequently viewed on the site. Moreover, a company spokesperson named several brokerages who have recently expanded partnerships with the site. And brokers who favor listing with the national sites said the opposition will only last until they lose listings as a result of the Zillow and Trulia boycotts. [Fiscal Times]