ZipRealty.com’s Buyer Buzz feature lets would-be home sellers test the market

You have long been able to get prequalified to buy a house. Now you can “pre-list” one for sale as well.

That’s the idea behind Buyer Buzz, a recently launched feature of ZipRealty.com that, in theory, lets would-be home sellers dip their toes into the marketplace without actually putting the old homestead up for sale.

I say “in theory” because ZipRealty readily admits that the new feature on its site is a lead generator, which in sales parlance means the company hopes to land clients from it.

“This is a way for us, honestly, to attract listings to the business,” said Myron Lo, vice president of innovation at ZipRealty. “We’re trying to take the guesswork out of the ‘What’s my house worth?’ question and leverage it.”

But Lo promises that no agents will call or bug homeowners who participate. Instead, what they’ll get is agent feedback. And if you’re just a curious onlooker, you also can weigh in on whether the homeowner has priced the house realistically.

The main idea is to give would-be buyers a sneak peek of homes that may be coming onto the market and to give would-be sellers feedback about whether the price they have in mind is fair or far-fetched.

Here’s how it works: If you search for a home in a suburb or neighborhood on the site (you’ll need to register to do this) that has homeowners who are participating in the program, the Buyer Buzz tool will pop up on the screen.

Click on it, and it will take you to a page of “listed” Buyer Buzz homes in that area that you can weigh in on, voting on whether the price feels right.

If you want to list your own home, scroll over the “Sell My House” link on the ZipRealty home page. A menu will pop down that contains a Buyer Buzz link. Click on it, and you can then post your home, its description, desired sales price and optional pictures.

What the would-be sellers get, in return, are opinions from local ZipRealty agents about the price and the way the house shows, if they’ve added photos. (You’ll have to provide your e-mail address to get the agent opinions.)

If you’re expecting the agents to fawn over the house to elicit the listing from you eventually, you might be surprised.

In a sampling I looked at, a couple of agents opined that the market was dead in a particular neighborhood where one house was listed and suggested the homeowner wait to put it on the market or try to rent the place.

Buyer Buzz is an interesting approach at a time when survey after survey suggests that many buyers and sellers are wary about the real estate market and, lacking a sense of direction, elect to do nothing.

Buyer Buzz may be an outlet for the commitment-phobic.

“It’s no risk,” Lo said. “If someone wants to test the market, they don’t need to put a sign up that it’s for sale.”

He also said prospective sellers who go through the Buyer Buzz process might get a realistic notion of their home’s value before they sit down to talk with an agent.

“One of the biggest things all agents run into is sticker shock,” Lo said. “In this economy, a tool like this helps set expectations better.”

Umberger writes for the Chicago Tribune.