Yes you can sell your home yourself but do you really save money?
Yes you can sell your home yourself. And yes you can save money doing it that way, sometimes.
There are many services available to help you sell your home yourself. Sites such as ForSaleByOwner.com, Owners.com and Fizber.com offer good exposure for reasonable prices. This exposure doesn’t come free but you can save money this way.
The typical real estate commission is made up of 2 parts. One is the listing commission. This part is for the agent who lists your home and does the marketing for you. Marketing a home can be expensive in a down market. Most experts recommend using online marketing as opposed to newsprint advertising. Newsprint is very expensive and no longer as effective as it once was. Online marketing is much more effective these days as almost everyone starts home shopping there.
The second part of a real estate commission is the selling commission. This is paid to the agent who brings a buyer to the transaction. Offering a good selling commission is essential to a quick sale. Buyers’ agents are “force multipliers” in that each one brings, usually, several buyers with him. By offering a good commission you enhance your chances of a sale. Here’s a note to remember: Almost all buyers hire a buyers’ agent to represent them in a purchase. If the commission on one home is higher than another’s which do you think the agent will show?
Typically both commissions are 3% for a total of 6% of the selling price. REMEMBER commissions are negotiable.
In the past For Sale By Owners’ (FSBO) homes have averaged about 15% of the market. That figure goes up and down during different markets. In a good market where it’s easy to sell FSBO’s go up to about 20% of closed sales. When the market is bad, like right now, the FSBO share can go as low as 5%.
Now lets cover some of the online FSBO sites available. ForSaleByOwner.com offers several plans starting for $81 per month to a full blown plan for $809. Owners.com offers a simple plan for free and then better plans up an agent assisted plan for $695. Fizber.com offers the same very basic plan for free and then better plans up to $495.
Last year was a very tough year to sell any home. Last year the median sale price for a for-sale-by-owner property was $153,000, while it was $211,000 for sellers who used an agent, according to the National Association of Realtors.
So maybe you can save a buck or maybe you might be better off negotiating with a good real estate agent. Remember you have to do all the work. You will also have the expenses and hassles of making flyers, installing yard signs, installing ground signs and open houses. Everything depends on how much time and experience you have. Good luck.
All comments are welcome.
Jim Johnson