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For Sale By Owner vs. using a Realtor

By
Real Estate Agent with Meservier & Associates of The Bean Group

Just read a great article about for sale by owner selelrs, they are apparently more than twice as likely to get their homes sold if they use a Realtor®, rather than trying to sell their home on their own, this is according to a survey conducted by HomeGain of 400 home owners nationwide from July 31 to Aug. 10.  Seventy-three percent of the home owners surveyed said they used a Realtor®. 21 percent of those surveyed said they tried to sell their home themselves.

The survey found that 66 percent of the home owners who used a Realtor® were able to successfully sell their home compared to 30 percent of for-sale-by-owners.

The survey also found that 22 percent of the for-sale-by-owners eventually decided to use a Realtor® to try to sell their home. More than half of those who did were then able to sell their homes to.

This survey does support that Realtors understand the dynamics of their local market and can better assist home sellers in the pricing and preparation of their homes for sale.

Alan Kirkpatrick
Austin Texas Homes - Round Rock, TX
Alan in Austin

Sue:

Very nice information. good post. Have a great week. 

Nov 06, 2012 10:58 PM
Elite Home Sales Team
Elite Home Sales Team OC - Corona del Mar, CA
A Tenacious and Skilled Real Estate Team

The for sale by owner has a much more difficult time getting their price and terms.

Nov 06, 2012 10:59 PM
Michael J. Gallo
Florida Luxury Realty - New Port Richey, FL
Florida Luxury Realty - Gulf Home Sales Team

Sue, I have noticed that my buyers look upon For Sale by Owner properties as having a defect or something "just isn't right" about the property.  Combine that with the lack of knowledge on the part of the FSBO seller and you have a cocktail of uncertanty.  Generally a FSBO will Net more money on thier sale by using a Realtor(R).

Nov 06, 2012 11:05 PM
Jeff Pearl
Samson Properties / LIC in VA - Lovettsville, VA
Full Service Full Time Realtor

Those percentages aren't bad for FSBO's with little or no experience. I think it just depends on the location of the property. My feeling is that it's not the fact that owners are trying to sell themselves, it's that they don't properly price, disclose, or communicate with agents that might have a buyer for their home. Normally, the last thing a potentila buyer or agent wants to see when showing a FSBO is the owner. Plus, I think many FSBO sellers don't know that a buyer can pay their agent, but many agents are afraid to ask their buyer for a commission in many cases.

Nov 06, 2012 11:42 PM
Sue Meservier
Meservier & Associates of The Bean Group - Auburn, ME

So agree Jeff...well said.

Nov 07, 2012 01:00 AM