In a report conducted by online property search company Roost, it was determined that property information varied widely in volume and accuracy among sites, with some showing only a small portion of the for-sale properties in a given market area. Many sites are missing most of the properties that brokers have listed for sale in multiple listing services. In addition, the property information at these sites is far less accurate or current than broker-shared property data derived from area MLSs.

In the Charlotte NC metro area, a better choice for home shoppers is SECharlotteHomeSearch.com, where you can have a custom website of live MLS data set up for you that gives you access to current listings that match your criteria. You can be very specific and filter listings down to only the best available choices. And when prices change or new properties come available, you get them immediately.

The study focused on a range of sites that offer property search tools, including Google, Roost, Trulia, Yahoo and Zillow.

The data in this study clearly show that a site based on information from a local MLS will give consumers a more accurate picture of what's available in a local market.