By Priscilla R. Toomey, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker, Julia B. Fee/Sotheby's International Realty

Sep. 14, 2016:  Sellers and buyers of residential real estate have a very different experience today than they did even five years ago. In large measure this is due to the popularity of the Internet and channels like HGTV.

While these may be good ways to get an overview, such media outlets are there for entertainment or as lead generators, i.e., to identify prospective buyers and sell their contact information to real estate agents who pay to advertise with them. Thus, accuracy may be an attractive goal, but it is certainly not their main focus. In fact, what they often produce for people who rely on them for searches we could call "artificial intelligence"--the perception that they are seeing accurate information when they are not.

For example, Zestimates (estimates of property market values on the website Zillow) rely largely on satellites--and in the Bronxville area, we know how often buyers really want to know what school district a particular house is in; zip codes and town names often cross into several different jurisdictions and thus different school districts.

All real estate is local, so national or even regional data on the state of the market can be misleading. Real estate practice, too, is local. For example, in the Bronxville area, sellers are almost always told by their lawyer not to sign the property condition disclosure statement but to pay the $500 penalty due the buyer instead, but in many other parts of New York State, sellers routinely sign that disclosure. The Internet doesn't tell you that.

The speed and ease of the types of renovations seen on HGTV, and how they affect the sale of a house, are also dependent on the locale as well as the experience and expertise of the professionals doing the work. Most people need the advice of a professional before getting into a major project, and that experience is very different from what they see on TV.

Knowing local practice is vital to a successful transaction. While the Internet is an excellent initial screening tool, prospective sellers and buyers are well advised to search a website with an IDX (Internet Data Exchange) feed from the Multiple Listing Service and to enlist the services of an experienced real estate professional who can advise them in ways that will avoid the pitfalls the Internet often glosses over. 

Pictured here:  Priscilla Toomey, licensed associate real estate broker, JD, ABR, Top5, certified EcoBroker, SRES with Julia B. Fee/Sotheby's International Realty, 2 Park Place, Bronxville, NY 10708; cell, 914-559-8084; email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Photo courtesy Julia B. Fee/Sotheby's International Realty