Searching by zip code is, at least in the Charlottesville area, next to useless and perhaps more dangerous than useful because of the artificial and arbitrary boundaries they create. Searching by elementary school district is the most efficient use of localized search because that is a frequent target of buyers and is the most isolated search available in our MLS.
Read ForSalebyLocal’s post for a more thorough reasoning as well as an alternative solution to zips.
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I’ve found that the same is true for our area. It’s rather annoying, but I like your suggestion of just searching school districts.
Agreed. For real estate, ZIP Codes are not usable in urban areas. See also neighborhoods vs. ZIP Codes.