arstechnica.com — "Three economists decided to investigate whether using a for sale by owner (FSBO) web site could actually make homeowners more money compared to selling a house with a traditional real estate agent. The answer, at least in Madison, Wisconsin, is yes."
Jun 8, 2007 View in Crawl 4
hiprealtorJun 9, 2007
Actually, the +$600K market is extremely difficult and it truly is harder to sell high-end homes than it is to sell a $100K fixer to an investor. Which customer requires and expects more - the custom-fitted suit shopper at Nordstrom or a dude who needs a t-shirt at Wal-Mart?
juniorlikespieJun 9, 2007
maybe in places like madison wisconsin it is a good idea to list your own property. but in markets like l.a. or just california for that matter it really helps to have an agent. there's a reason the markets in l.a. is kind of insular. as someone pointed out most agents don't take the 6% it's usually 3% i think the benifits of having an agent far outweight the negatives. but even if you are gonna list your own property don't even dare trying to buy a property without an agent. remember a house is probably going to be one of the largest investments you'll ever make.
Closed AccountJun 9, 2007
If you think just dropping a property into MLS is how it gets sold you are sadly mistaken
Closed AccountJun 9, 2007
DT: your math is incredibly flawed, because advertising eats up commission very VERY quicklyoh and that unquoted fact, blatantly false. Not even close to being accurate.you may not see the value in having an agent, but I live around madison (actually closer to milwaukee) and the stats for this area of the country you will get your home sold faster and for more money at the conclusion of the sale going with a full service agent rather than using a low cost brokerage.and FSBO's typically sit for around 60 days then the sellers gets an agent. Sure some do get lucky, but in this corner of the midwest, FSBOing or using the low fee brokers is one way to waste a lot of time and money.
memillsJun 10, 2007
I've used a flat-fee real estate agent who simply listed the property in the MLS. I hostedmy own open houses each weekend. Saved me probably a total of $40 - $50k in sellingtwo properties. Of course, Realtors HATE this, and they do everything they can to threaten RE agentswho break their MLS monopoly.
seohackJun 11, 2007
One thing, and maybe it was only the local area where I was trying to sell a house, is that not all FSBO sites are the same. Some of these sites (or rather, the people running the site and the local FSBO biz) piss off realtors in a big way, which is why some realtors refuse to show homes from some FSBO businesses. In my experience, on the selling side, yeah, it sucks if you're selling it on your own to lose 3% to a realtor (the ones I dealt with left a bad taste in my mouth), but at the same time you need traffic. And if you're in an area without a lot of people driving by, dangling that 3% out there will turn some heads.FSBO sites can be great, but like anything, do your research.
dwmordueJul 25, 2007
I agree with what you're saying. Real estate agents have a lot of overhead. I've seen plenty of agents pay out of their own pocket to have a house landscaped, painted, cleaned, etc. because the sellers were too lazy or broke to maintain the house that was listed. Anyone who thinks that real estate agents don't earn their money should try selling a typical 3/2 house in or around Detroit or Phoenix right now. No MLS or flat fee service provider is going to help a seller get their house sold in a market where home prices have dropped 15-35%. In a strong market, people are quick to throw stones, but they seem silent in a declining market.
fsboextraOct 13, 2008
Very intersesting. The days of 6-10% commission are rapidly coming to an end. As a real estate investor for over 20 years, I've found selling properties on my own very often gets me the same results as using a realtor. Not always, but more often than not. Most realtors I have met just want to list as many homes as possible then wait for some other realtor to sell the home. Now, with the internet, the power belongs to the homeowner. A seller can list his property on a For Sale By Owner site for FREE and market their home to thousands of buyers all across the world.
elgstrJan 9, 2009
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