One thing I always talk about, and I used it in my last post is, as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) you always pay a commission, it just depends on whether you want to pay it to the buyer or pay it to a REALTOR.  If you were to compare FSBO and REALTOR marketed properties, according to 2006 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the typical FSBO sold for $187,200 compared to $247,000 for agent-assisted home sales.  In order to understand this we have to go back to the principle of pricing a home properly. 

As REALTORS, we know that when we list a home, and it is priced properly, it will sell more quickly, and typically for something close to the asking price.  When a listing is overpriced causing that listing to sit on the market, price reductions, oftentimes drastic, are used to generate interest when natural market curiosity has worn off.  These reductions usually result in a sale price that is something less than what it would have been had the price been put in the right place from the onset, not to mention the fact that it takes much longer to sell. 

As a FSBO, the same type of thing ends up happening, but for more than just the reasons described above.  REALTORS are trained in the art (notice I say art and not science) of pricing a home, and oftentimes, a FSBO has only part of the picture when it comes to pricing their home properly.  Subsequently it is not uncommon for a FSBO to start out initially at a higher price than the market will bear, and then, as described above, the price gets lowered until someone buys, or the home sits on the market for an extended period of time, or even never sells. 

This is a simple concept to understand, however, it is not the point of this post.  The point of this post is to say that no one will buy the FSBO in the first place if they don't know it's for sale.  44% of home sales are the result of a relationship that a potential buyer of a property has with a REALTOR who sees a property listed on their local MLS, so as a FSBO, you immediately eliminate nearly half of all potential buyers by not selecting a REALTOR.  What is also interesting to point out is that only about 30% of FSBOs ever actually sell their homes on their own.  A full 70% of FSBOs either decide for one of a number of reasons that they don't want to sell, or they outsource all of that running around, and find a REALTOR.

Remember, a property that sits, sells for less, so hire a REALTOR who knows how to price and market it, and the amount of money that you may have paid a commission on is no match to the peace of mind that it bought you.

Still not convinced?  If the above reasons are not enough to make you think twice about selling your own home, go to http://www.ArizonaPremiereLiving.com/ourServices.htm and take a look at some of the 237+ other things we do not only to earn a commission, but to protect the greatest financial asset you will ever own.  To find out more visit us online at http://www.arizonapremiereliving.com/, call Ben Bailey at 480/220-8022 (email him at Ben@ArizonaPremiereLiving.com), or call Jerry Murphy at 602/334-3757 (email him at JWMurphy@Windermere.com). 

Check out Jerry Murphy's blog at http://activerain.com/blogs/jmurph16, and thanks for stopping by.