Zillow Home Values

How can you find your DREAM Home if you can't see it?

If you're searching for home value information the first person you should ask is a top local Real Estate Agent, and the last place you should check is Zillow.

As of today, Zillow is the most widely used real estate website in the United States. It's an awesome experience for users because the website behaves beautifully. It's fast, it's clean, and it gives great functionality that other websites don't. It also appears that they have future plans to operate with boots on the ground.

However, News Corp has other plans for the Real Estate Marketing Giant...

Let's start with a little of the background drama before we hop into the details. News Corp owns

Tips to Sell Your Home FAST in Raleigh

Everyone wants to sell their home fast and for the most money possible. In order to do this you don't have to spend large amounts of money, in fact you can spend nothing at all:

Below you will find 7 - Cost nothing tips to sell your home faster! For those selling in competitive markets, like the homes in Raleigh, it makes even more sense to pay attention to the tips below that will help you put a sold sign in your yard. There are common mistakes sellers make and these tips are a low risk way to ensure your home sells fast.

Cleaning your Home Helps Sell it Faster

One of the first things you should do, and it should go without saying, is clean. Cleaning your home so that it presents at it's

Do Real Estate Agents Save Sellers Money?

Everyone wants to save money, which makes it easy to understand why someone would want to sell their home without the help of a Realtor. The other day, while talking with a frustrated for sale by owner in Cary, NC they wanted to know how much I would charge to sell their home.

That's when I realized most For Sale By Owner's are only interested in saving as much money as they possibly can, it's our job to help them connect the dots to what they walk away with. Instead of telling him how much money I would charge to sell his house, I asked, "would you mind if I showed you how much money you will save working with me?"

Sellers are far more worried about protecting their equity, and rightfully so! You

To the 100,000 Real Estate Professionals who are paying for impressions on Zillow and Trulia, you are directly funding, and supporting your competition. In fact, every time you post on social media using a Zillow link you are promoting a real estate "media" company that you are competing with. You're helping Zillow and Trulia outrank you online which is where 95% of consumers are shopping for real estate.

First we need to understand that Zillow is a publicly traded company, meaning they have investors they need to answer to if profits are not heading in the right direction. I'm not sure we need to go into more details other than the fact people make investments for one reason, to make money.

So what exactly does Zillow plan to do with the $108

A Real Life Story About a Home for Sale in Raleigh, NC 

Selling a home for more than your neighbors takes the right mix of ingredients.

In July, a Realtor® brought a buyer to one of our north Raleigh listings and made an offer. We countered at list price. She came back significantly closer to our list price, however my seller and I were confident in our price so we countered again by saying we would accept their offer at list price. She then told us "you will never sell that home at that price." She cited one home on the street that was comparable which sold for less. We respected her opinion and pointed to the fact that homes in Raleigh are selling 20 days faster and for 10% more than when that home sold a few months ago. That's when the

Mistakes Sellers Make When Listing Their Home for Sale

Selling your home is a big decision. Chances are it's one of your largest assets and is one of the largest sales you will ever make. The home selling process can be an absolute roller coaster ride with turns and dips you weren't expecting. We've helped Raleigh home sellers make the process of selling their house easier, with less stress by avoiding common mistakes. Notice we didn't say easy and without stress, because that would not be a sale in real estate. Any Realtor® who tells you it's easy and stress free has never sold a home before because that is never the case. There are mistakes homeowners can avoid when selling their home that will help the sale go smoother. 

There are a lot of

Did you know that the founder of ForSaleByOwner.com, Colby Sambrotto, couldn't sell his home for sale by owner? He enlisted the help of a Realtor® who then sold it for $150,000 more than the original price. You can read the full story here.

So you're probably wondering how did a Realtor® earn Mr. Sambrotto more money than he would have if he sold it himself. Let's talk about it.

As with anything in life there are people who work hard to master their craft. Lebron James is the best basketball player in the world, Tom Brady is the best Quarterback in the NFL, and they didn't end up the best without working extremely hard. Many of the best Realtors® spend their time learning, adapting and selling the homes of their clients each and every day. They

A common question homeowners ask is 'Why didn't my home sell' when their home becomes an expired listing on the MLS. There are a number of reasons that come in to play when a home doesn't sell. You may have made a common seller mistake as so many have.

Why Didn't My Home Sell?

In this article we are going to dig in, and discover, the reasons your home didn’t sell. You're probably wondering why your home expired and what to do next.

The first thing you should do is not freak out. There’s many reasons why a home doesn't sell from price, to location, to condition, to absorption rates. Let’s examine potential reasons your home didn’t sell:

Questions to ask when your home becomes an expired listing

Was the home overpriced?
Is the home in a

What Can Realtors® and Sellers Learn From “Million Dollar Listing”?

Million Dollar Listing in it's fourth season has had tremendous success for Bravo. The success of the show comes as no surprise, people have always enjoyed watching reality television and Million Dollar Listing has the recipe for great viewership. While a lot of the show captures the lives of Realtors® outside of work, there is a lot we can learn as Realtors® and Sellers from the real estate related aspect of the show.

So without further ado, here is the top 10 takeaways for Realtors and Sellers from Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing."

Don’t allow your seller to be present when a buyer is viewing the home. It can make things awkward and doesn’t allow your client to feel

Does Selling Your Home With a Realtor® Net You More Money?

Selling your home For Sale By Owner (FSBO as it’s referred to in the Real Estate world) makes a lot of sense for homeowners on the surface. It’s an opportunity to save on the commission you’d normally pay a Realtor® to sell your home. It’s the number one reason someone sells their home For Sale By Owner, to save on the commission. By saving on the commission, the data shows you’re losing on the net:

You Net More Money When You Use A Realtor®, Numbers Don’t Lie:

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics

It’s interesting why the founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark, openly says he loves his Realtor®, right? Unless of course his Realtor® was netting him more money than he could by