When you find websites that explain how easy it is to sell your home on your own, and that any agent will tell you how badly you need them, you should look for the catch!  They may have a "discount" service plan or collect fees for listing your home on the MLS.  For example, I located an article (an advertisement in disguise) on a well-established and respected financial news and advice platform, that explains why real estate agents are unnecessary and expensive.  The author happens to be the president of an online discount brokerage that in the past received a Cease and Desist order from the Texas Real Estate Commission, for practices that were in violation of Texas law (offering brokerage services without a license).

Don't just look for the catch, search for online reviews and complaints against these services.  You get what you pay for and that's especially true when hiring a professional or choosing a discount plan for selling your home. 

There are just as many sites that explain why you shouldn’t sell on your own, so be sure to visit those sites as well. Some of them have an interest in promoting agents, but not all. I searched the web to find sites that list the advantages of hiring an agent that may be less biased than others, and found this Invostepedia article, “8 Reasons to sell your home with an agent” to most closely match my own advice.

Before making the decision to sell your home on your own, it’s important to do your research with an open mind. It’s easy to be convinced that selling on your own and saving the money you would pay in commissions is the best approach, but statistics don’t support this. The National Association of Realtors tracks all home sales in the US, and reports that homes that were sold for sale by owner (FSBO) closed at an average of $190,000 in 2016, while agent-assisted homes sold at an average of $249,000. Only 8% of homes sold in 2016 were sold by the owner, and many of them were sold to someone the owner already knew.

Unlike a number of online sites, real estate agents have access to specific local market data that isn’t available to unlicensed users. Agents know more about local market conditions than anyone, especially a remote website that may be headquartered in a different state. Pricing your home to meet market values and conditions is the most crucial part of the home selling process, so don’t take the risk of selling your home for less than its market value. Overpricing your home can be worse than underpricing if your home lingers on the market, and rarely works out in your favor.

Another big consideration is that homes sold FSBO can be susceptible to lawsuits. The laws governing the conveyance of real estate in Texas are stringent, and can leave a seller vulnerable to frivolous legal claims. This can easily wipe out any savings you might have realized from selling without an agent, and then some.

You’ve worked too hard to build equity in your home, so why give it away? Contact us to receive a complete list of services provided and receive a complimentary home valuation analysis. We serve the Cypress-Tomball, Katy, Greater Houston, and League City areas.

Current market conditions in the Greater Houston area indicate that now is the right time to sell.  Inventory is dwindling and buyers are actively looking for homes.