Solo Sales: FSBOs’ Costly Mistake | Realtor Magazine
Forty-eight percent of home owners who sell their home without a real estate agent believe that if they sell themselves they’ll have to just do a little extra work and then be able to save on having to pay a commission or closing fee. But research shows that for-sale-by-owners actually end up having to spend a lot more time than they ever imagined and tend to end up with a final selling price that is lower than comparable listings that were sold by an agent, according to research by the National Association of REALTORS®.
Eighty-nine percent of all homes sold this year were sold with the assistance of a real estate professional, according to NAR’s 2015 Home Buyers and Sellers Profile report. But for a small number of people, they still prefer to do it alone. Eight percent of home sellers chose to list themselves – a record low of for-sale-by-owner transactions, according to NAR’s survey, which dates back to 1981.
“In reality, homes sold by the owner make less money overall,” according to NAR’s Economists’ Outlook blog.
Take a look at the numbers from NAR’s survey: The median selling price for all FSBO homes was $210,000 last year. When the buyer knew the seller in FSBO sales, the number sinks to the median selling price of $151,90. However, homes that were sold with the assistance of an agent had a median selling price of $249,000 – nearly $40,000 more for the typical home sale.