From time to time I get calls from home buyers who are confused by what they are finding on the web or cell phone. These buyers are looking on the web from their phone and home computer, finding properties for sale only to drive by and see a sold sign or get confusing information where on one site it says one price and on another a different price.

While our cell phone apps are great and the web holds a tremendous wealth of information it is not always up-to-date and accurate when it comes to homes for sale. The reason for this is many web sites such as Realtor.com rely partially on agents updating their listings manually and this includes price changes they may have. The other reason is most sites upload changes automatically but they may do it every 30 minutes or every 2 days.

Although starting on the web or your cell phone is a great thing and really allows you to get familiar with an area the most accurate data can only be found on the MLS system your agent uses because that is real time data and you won’t end up driving by homes only to see a “sold” sign blowing in the wind . Don’t get me wrong cell phone and web sites are great, in fact I recently upgraded to the HTC Droid Incredible and have an app on mine for home searches as well although my app is the MLS that agents use .

Best of luck to you on your home search and remember your agent can also enter your home search criteria into a saved search folder on the MLS that can and will e-mail you as soon as properties hit the market that fit your criteria so make sure to ask.