How to Search Like a Pro (Part 2): The Results Are In! Rapid Triage to Cut 100 Listings to 5
With your filters dialed in and alerts humming, it's time to put those results through a quick-cut system to separate the contenders from the clutter.
📋 TL;DR Part 2 — Rapid Triage: Cut 100 Listings to 5
- •Sort newest first, stop when you hit a home you've already seen.
- •In results view, judge only the top photo + key facts; hide obvious "no"s.
- •Open the listing only after it clears the quick pass; still don't dive into photos yet.
🕐 Start Each Day with a Quick Review — Lisa's Daily Search Routine
Lisa sets up daily alerts for her target city, limits filters to price and beds/baths, but skips square footage. She reviews just the new listings each morning, hiding anything with a blurry exterior, then opens the map for every maybe—eliminating homes near highways or that back to commercial zones. Only after this process does she review photos or request a virtual tour. Her time spent drops from hours to minutes per day.
⚡ How to Triage 100 Listings Without Losing Your Mind
Once you're satisfied with your search filters, have labeled/saved your daily searches, and sitting there you're looking at a seemingly endless list of possible matches, how do you get through them all without it becoming a part-time job? Ahh, this is where the fine art of elimination comes into play. From here, while you should still be sticking with your list of requirements to quickly narrow the candidates, it's perfectly fine to let some subjectivity into the mix, but only in terms of ruthlessly eliminating properties. Maybe that "Aww, I love this one!" moment can wait. Here are some tips to get you started… keep in mind that your goal is to ELIMINATE as many properties as possible, as fast as possible.
✅ The 6-Step Triage Process
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Step 1: Sort by Newest and Stop Early
First, be sure you've sorted the listing with the "newest" listings first (not "recently changed"). This is particularly important when you're looking at the results of your search each day. When you get to the first house you've already seen, STOP LOOKING! -
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Step 2: Judge the Cover Photo, Not the Album
Before you even open the details on a listing, LOOK at the "top" picture (and ONLY the "top" picture) of each house that appears in your search results. (Tip/Pet Peeve: If a listing's "top" picture isn't of the front of the house, move on. There's ALWAYS a good reason for this!). Quickly ask yourself some critical questions. Do you like the look of the house? Can you imagine yourself living there? Are there any obvious issues that jump out in the picture (just plain ugly, garage in the basement, overgrown/poor landscaping, obviously old roof, deferred maintenance, etc)? Again, do NOT get sucked into looking at all the pictures yet, that's a waste of your time on at least 50% of all properties.
If the top photo isn't of the front of the house, there's a reason.
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Step 3: Use Price and Quick Facts to Eliminate
Still in the search results, look at the price and key details visible below the property's picture. Consider "hiding" any properties that are an obvious "no" to avoid wasting time on them again. Most of the apps have a way to do so right here in the search results (in Zillow, for example, there is a "meatball menu" in the upper right corner below the picture with a "hide" option, so that you never have to see this particular poor match again!). -
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Step 4: Save or Hide Strategically
Any house that looks good at this point can either be "favorited" now for later review after you've worked through the results (generally just click the heart icon). Or, if you prefer, go ahead and open the listing now for further review.
💡 Key Insight
Rapid triage cuts time. Judge by the cover photo and key facts first—eliminate fast, look at photos later. Sort newest first and stop when you hit properties you've already seen.
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Step 5: Resist the Photo Trap (For Now)
"Jack," you might say with excitement in your voice, "do we finally get to look at pictures now?" NO, YOU DO NOT! Not unless you'd like to spend all day every day looking at properties you'll most likely never buy. Look, do whatever turns your crank, but I'm trying to get you through this process and back to your real life as quickly as possible. Looking at the pics is absolutely the biggest time sink in the whole process, so I strongly recommend NOT doing so until you've exhausted every opportunity to eliminate the property first.
NEVER look at the listings photos until you've exhausted every opportunity to eliminate the property first.
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Step 6: Scan the Key Facts and Features
Now that we're in the listing itself, glance down at the rest of the property's key details below the pictures ("Facts and features" on Zillow). You'll learn to take all of this information in pretty quickly, but I recommend paying close attention to things like the year built and the size of the property (acreage). No need to expand this section just yet. Take a quick look and keep moving.
✅ Bottom Line
Eliminate first, investigate later. Judge properties by their cover photo and key facts in search results, hide obvious "no"s immediately, and resist the photo trap until you've narrowed your list. Sort newest first and stop when you hit listings you've already seen. Your goal isn't to find every listing—it's to eliminate the wrong ones faster.
Now that you've built a shortlist worth investigating, next comes the step that separates smart buyers from the rest—learning what the map can tell you that photos never will in Part 3.