Realtor Reality
September 6th, 2006 by Grant in: Real EstateThe FSBO vs. Real Estate Agent saga continues.
My friends’ house is still on the FSBO market, over two months since the FSBO test started.
In that period of time, they’ve lowered their price by $5,000 while under the impression that it’s the price that is keeping people away. You’ll remember that the people next door sold their house for $2,000 under what they were asking in under a week using a realtor.
The trend continues, as another family down the street put their house on the market three weeks ago and now have a contract on it.
I’ll continue to monitor the status, but to be frank, the test is dragging on and on with little hope for the poor FSBO. Naturally, putting your house on the FSBO market may save you some money, but you’ll have to put in the legwork that a realtor would, to market your own house.
One of the problems I see is that there are so many FSBO listing sites on the internet these days that it’s impossible to search them all if you’re in the market for a house. This alone makes the case for a nation-wide FSBO database, or opening up the MLS database to individuals.
Leave comments
Subscribe to Comments
Loading ...
September 6th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
The MLS is what IMO really puts FSBO at a disadvantage, absolutely. The killer though, dang, is that 6% commission. That just hurts! Really need some kind of a bidding process for that, but I don’t see it happening. Now what would really be cool is some kind of intersection between Zillow and the MLS. Wow!
September 7th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Yep, it seems the price you pay for getting someone else to market your home is 6% of it’s value. Pretty steep if you ask me!
-Grant
November 20th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
A good idea when marketing a property FSBO is to locate someone in your city that takes “360 degree photos”. These panoramic photos are free to post on many websites and give prospective buyers or renters a wonderful way to see the property “in the round”.
This can go a long way to marketing your property in a professional manner and can save a lot when it comes to commissions.
I hope this helps.
Phil G
December 12th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
Whatever happened with the FSBO house? Did they sell it themselves or have to go with a realtor?
December 12th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Actually they gave up!
The only “lookers” they had were actually realtors looking for houses for clients. No offers made.
They took the sign out of the yard but left the listing up online. My neighbor told me he’d put the sign back out in the yard in the spring time…
Keep you posted,
Grant