VDOT Marketing Homes Through Zillow & not the MLS

Entrance to one of the VDOT-owned homes in Colthurst
Entrance to one of the VDOT-owned homes in Colthurst

This is not a post about Zillow vs the MLS. This is a post asking one question: Why is VDOT not marketing the homes they have for sale through the MLS? They are listed “for sale by owner” on Zillow.

That’s it. That’s the question. Is this truly exposing the homes to the fair market?

When the Western Bypass died, the Virginia Department of Transportation had to sell the homes they had purchased.

Here’s one of the homes VDOT has for sale; there are quite a few more for sale that were in the path of the planned/proposed Western Bypass.

If you’re interested, these are the homes VDOT have for sale; go to District 7 (the Culpeper district).

I’m really curious – why choose to not expose the properties that VDOT has for sale to the widest possible market?

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2 Comments

  1. Doug Francis February 15, 2016 at 11:52

    Jim, I did find that this home was “advertised” in the Washington Post similar to a foreclosure notice. I have a hunch that Zillow picks up this feed and then posts it onto their site.

    http://mypublicnotices.com/washingtonpost/PublicNotice.asp?Page=PublicNotice&AdId=4010868

    Adding all of these properties in the MLS obviously would give them exposure on hundreds of web sites, and this may be an excellent opportunity to submit a proposal to VDOT’s NE Region Property Manager explaining the benefits of the MLS in 2016.

    So, why don’t they do it already? Good question.

    Reply
    1. Jim Duncan February 16, 2016 at 07:19

      That’s an interesting point. The challenge with that, though, is that it leaves out the Charlottesville area MLS – the market in which the houses are located. Granted, they’re being marketed out of the Culpeper district (I think), so maybe the Washington angle makes sense, to a degree.

      Maybe.

      Reply

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