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Brad Davidson
By Brad Davidson | Broker in Orange County, CA

Home Buyers - Do you still search Craigslist?

Posted under: Home Buying in Orange County  |  May 12, 2009 5:02 PM  |  675 views  |  5 comments
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I used to post about 100 ads a week on Craigslist and got a great response.  I sold at least two homes a month through Craigslist leads and it is what helped me get my Real Estate Commission Rebate program off the ground.

Now there are so many posts on the Orange County Craigslist and it's so cluttered with junk that I don't get nearly the response that I used to.  There are already almost 600 posts today and two real estate offices are responsible for about 200 of those posts.

So home buyers, do you still use craigslist as a tool to search for real estate?  Do you find it as cluttered and commercialized as I do?  Do you search Backpage or any other classified sites?

Your feedback is appreciated - Thanks

Brad Davidson - Broker
wehelpubuy.com
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Comments

By Steve,  Tue May 12 2009, 23:55
Not enough filtering on Craigslist. As you've noted, whoever spams it the hardest gets seen most. Hence, a lot of spam.

My favorite interface is Google Map ("My Maps"->"Google Real Estate Search"). It's not 100% of inventory, but the fastest to work with and less junk listings. If I want more inventory and filtering options at the expense of speed, I like hotpads.com and Redfin.

But yes, Craigslist has really gone downhill. They need to start charging $1-$5 for all For Sale/For Rent real estate to curtail spam (I believe it's still no charge, but could be wrong)
By Marcia V Holcomb,  Wed May 13 2009, 11:22
I posted a luxury home for sale on Craig's List and have not received any calls. Is there a way to know if you get any hits?
By Brad Davidson,  Wed May 13 2009, 12:35
Craigslist doesn't track hits. You can only track your ads by the calls and emails you get. Be sure to use their email forwarding system (don't post your email address) or you'll get spammed.
By David Tobiano,  Mon Apr 12 2010, 19:51
I search craigslist exclusively through TinkOMatic http://www.tinkomatic.com . I add filters (mostly keywords that help me exclude people who are over-posting) and monitor my searches overtime.
Otherwise - like you said - there is just too much spam.
By Linda S. Cefalu,  Mon Apr 12 2010, 20:06
I just sold two listings in the past six months there were originally as FSBO's on Craig's List. During my listing period I received several calls wishing to rent my properties. One person actually had a contract that he received from the people supposedly renting my property. I turned it over to the authorities and in doing some research I found that this was a common happening. The potential renter that forwarded this information actually had a friend that sent the money to the bogus landlord!!

Linda S. Cefalu

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