Repopropertyguide.com

RealtyTrac foreclosure listings just don’t add up … again

Count the Atlanta Journal-Constitution among the growing number of wise media outlets and organizations that will no longer accept nationwide foreclosure-related statistics from RealtyTrac at face value.

According to Inman News (subscription required), the leading daily in the state recently compared legal notices published in newspapers in five metro Atlanta counties against numbers from the self-proclaimed “most trusted source of foreclosure information.”

And while it’s no surprise that RealtyTrac was way off (by nearly 4,000 filings) again, it is quite shocking that the company is now apparently underreporting data.

Here’s the irony:

“After changing its reporting methods two years ago in response to accusations that it was overstating the number of homes subjected to foreclosure-related filings, data aggregator RealtyTrac is facing the opposite problem …”

RealtyTrac still can’t seem to ever get it right.

Meanwhile, Foreclosure.com continues to collect data that is more in line with Mortgage Bankers Association, as well passes tests from the Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Inman News — the leading source of independent real estate news, information, advice, research, opinion and commentary for industry professionals and consumers alike — and other prestigious publications/newswires.

And yet several newspapers and media outlets throughout the nation still to this day continue to source RealtyTrac data — even when the company’s own spokesperson admits there “needs to be a better process.”

The good news is that there already is a “better process” and it can be found conveniently online at Foreclosure.com. We work hand-in-hand with major lending institutions, government agencies, corporate sellers and other top-level sources, scrubbing the information that we receive to ensure its accuracy.

Put simply, our process works.

For more troubling news reports that reference RealtyTrac foreclosure statistics click here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Sorry if we missed a bunch; however, it’s just so much to keep track of over the years.