Comparing Real Estate Digital Platforms for Nantucket

Most people interested in real estate on Nantucket are not based on the island full-time, so it’s no surprise that nearly all our buyers and sellers are actively using digital platforms for researching properties, neighborhoods, and values. Let’s compare some of the more popular platforms like Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and others to see the benefits and potential pitfalls of each.

First off, let’s look at market share:

Zillow

Simply put, Zillow dominates as a real estate research tool. It’s worth noting that Trulia is a subsidiary of Zillow, so combined they make up ~50% of the market. 

Pros:
• Includes listings from MLS, as well as FSBO (for sale by owner). 
• Maps are very good and list prices for available properties as well as “Zestimates” listings and properties that are not currently on the market. 
• Ability to filter properties by price, bedroom count, home type, and more.

Cons:
• Due to its popularity, Zillow is a frequent target for fraudsters with illegitimate listings (usually with prices too good to be true). 
• Zestimates are often wrong and don’t take into account local nuances like zoning, build-out potential, impact of septic vs. sewer, etc. 
• Listing agent confusion. Zillow’s primary revenue driver is its “Premier Agent” program, which sells leads to real estate agents. When a user clicks on “connect with agent” they often think they’re being connected with the listing broker, but in fact it goes to a subscriber who may or may not be familiar with the property. For the past several years, the leading Zillow agent is not even based on the island, but their spending is large enough to get the top spot. 
• Listing updates happen less frequently than on other platforms. 

Realtor.com

The 2nd most popular platform by market share is Realtor.com, the official website of the National Association of REALTORS®, which is a trade organization that holds real estate professionals to elevated ethical standards. 

Pros:
• Listings are updated more frequently than Zillow and Trulia, with a direct link to MLS data. 
• Listings are less likely to be fraudulent.
Cons:
• Similar to Zillow and Trulia, the primary revenue driver for Realtor.com is advertising to RE agents. A quick look at the “Top Nantucket Agents” is quite revealing in that I only know 2 of the top 10 (I know all the top agents). 
• As an international platform, it lacks local knowledge about neighborhoods, abutters, popular destinations, high-traffic areas, etc.

Redfin:

Coming in at #3, Redfin is both a real estate brokerage and a platform. It’s the fastest syncing platform of the bunch; however, we’ll keep this one short, as it only lists six properties for sale at the time of this blog writing, and there are in fact, 150. Hmmm….

Local Agents for the Win

Nantucket literally translates to “far-away land” in Wampanoag, and it still rings true today. We live on a very special and unique island that’s full of nuances that you can’t fully understand from a computer screen or app.

We can set you up with access to our MLS, LINK, another arrow for your quiver, but we can also give you an island tour when you visit, share neighborhood insights, and make introductions to local experts we trust for building/renovating, legal questions, etc. You’ll never get all we can offer from a digital platform. I’d encourage you to use all the tools at your fingertips, but nothing beats working with someone who lives locally and is totally focused on helping you achieve your goals for island living. Have a question? Give me a call or drop me a line. 

For more Nantucket stories visit our blog at Fisher Real Estate.