for sale by owner

This is certainly true...of someone selling their home in Madison, Wisconsin between 1998 and 2004. I enjoyed reading the article you have attached to this post. It really does show that Real Estate is local. Thanks

I'm not sure where you get your information from.  My experience shows that FISBO's tend to sell for less and take much longer than those sold by Realtors.  People who buy tend to think that they can buy for less because there is no commission involved, those selling will accept less because there is no commission involved the seller ends up with what he would normally get plus he has to do all the work.  Many sellers don't have the experience in selling so they tend to either hold on too long or give in too soon.  An experienced Realtor can get more for the house in a shorter period of time.  We look for FISBO signs, they are like "Help Wanted" to us.

Do you have any more current data? Like what happens in a down market? 

My favorite for sale by owner story goes like this: I listed a for sale by owner who could not sell their home themselves (By the way, most FSBOs tend to overprice badly which makes everything go wrong for them. Most buyers of FSBO houses expect to save at least 10% over what they would pay for the same home listed by a realtor. This make the FSBO sale almost impossible, unless the local market has a shortage of inventory and steadily rising prices!)

The next door neighbor to the former-FSBO approached me, stating that his last agents were unable to sell his home; after I sold his neighbor's home, he would hire me to sell his home. When we put this home on the market, I discovered that he and his wife had purchased from a FSBO seller, and saved even more money because the seller had offered them a home inspection report at no cost!

When I sold this home myself, the buyers' home inspector discovered an abandoned oil tank in the front yard. The prior owners had abandoned it years ago when it began to leak oil and neglected to mention it when they sold the home as a FSBO. My seller clients ended up with a multi-thousand dollar clean-up bill. Oh the money they saved by buying a For Sale by Owner... 

The moral of the story: “If you think hiring an expert is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur!”
Red Adair - World Famous Oil Field Firefighter