Jan 31, 2012
It has been my custom I look around the MLS every day to find a bright spot in the real estate landscape. Something I call The House of the Day. The House of the Day started as an editorial on the best of what was new. At least as I see it. The only criteria is that the House of the Day must be new to the market. Something fresh and something we have not seen in a while. Other than that, it has to be something I would want to live in and that people would want to see photos of. Something to draw people to the site.
Today’s House of the Day
Today, the house of the day is shrouded in mystery. You can see the thumbnail of the bird’s-eye view above, but that is all I am allowed to show you. I am not allowed to show you the pictures of the sun drenched kitchen or the lavish pool, or even the stream that runs under the main living area and traverses the lot. I am not allowed to show you this info, because the sellers don’t want the listing displayed on what is called the IDX. The IDX is what runs our site. It is where we get all our listings, and allows us to build webpages so you can find what you are looking for in an easy way.
Along with this ability comes limitations like this one, where the listing agent can at the flip of a switch decide who can see the property and who can’t. I can understand why some sellers would not want the world to know what the inside of their house looked like. Certainly, if I had a 6 bedroom 6 bath home, with over 6000 sqft of living space, and a stream running under the house the lot, I may not want people to know what I have inside. Especially if I was selling it for $3.5MM. The seller may have things to hide.
Sellers disadvantage
In situations like the above home, I do think it is important for the seller to opt out of the IDX listings and having their home on the internet. They really do have something to hide. In a way, they are protecting the home for the future buyers. The buyers are safe in knowing that photos of the inside of their home is not plastered all over the internet. This however really only applies to a few homes. Everyone has equal rights to privacy, but only a very few sellers need it for their home to be marketed effectively.
In most cases 99.999% of all homes sold don’t have safe rooms or special places to keep priceless pieces of art. For most sellers it is a disadvantage for the seller to not be part of the IDX. We know that buyers find the home they purchase on the internet. It could be our site, another agents site, zillow, trulia, or REALTOR.com. That is where they find homes. Agents don’t find homes for people anymore. Marketing your home in as many places as possible is key to selling quickly.
Where we go from here
Well, I sure hope that tomorrows House of the day is not shrouded in mystery. If it is, I’m picking another one. And that is kind of the point, I can talk about the competition. Another house that is available for purchase. If agents want to start pulling more of their listings off the IDX, they can, that is their business, but if people searching my site don’t see their listing, I probable will not ever show it to them. Giving brokers like myself the option to talk about properties and build webpage that clients like looking at it important for our industry.
Recently a lot of pushback has come from listing agents who want to keep their data safe and not allow it on other brokers sites. I hope this calms down because I think the public loses in the end. And as for that property I am not allowed to show you photos of on the internet. I am allowed to email them to you. But to save you time, Here is the link you would be sent in the email. Enjoy! Let me know what you think about this issue by commenting below.
About Ed Neuhaus
Broker and founder of Neuhaus Realty Group. I started working in real estate as soon as I could push a lawnmower and help clean up investment properties for my parents. Investing in real estate has always been a passion and now I have turned that passion into a way to help others. Buying and selling homes for others is just one way I think I can make the world better. No sales pressure, no gimmicks, just an honest work ethic gets the job done. Let me know how I can help you. Give me a call today at 512.366.3720
