Here's an article that just popped up on CNN's Money site. I'm sharing it to get insight from everyone.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/08/real_estate/home_selling/index.htm?postversion=2007060814
I'm not surprised that this has happened given that each market is different. I'm just concerned that a lot of people are going to read it and think that they can now do it on their own. As we all know, those who put in the time and have the right resources are able to sell on their own. But the vast majority do not have the time and/or don't understand the ins and outs enough to sell quickly. I don't know that specific market but perhaps a 7-year study could benefit FSBO stats if a sellers' market were in effect for part of that time.
Is this article going to promote false hope?
Somebody else wrote about this yesterday and the study has some serious flaws! I've got a background in economics and I don't think that the study will hold up to peer review.
Bob Mitchell
ValueList Real Estate Services, Inc.
I would have to agree.. personally I wasn't very "moved" by the article, and my first thought was.....there is always going to be problems when people attempt to assume the role of a profession they are not familiar with. Plus I'm certain this study would look much different in other areas
Answer is some can and some can't. Some who can, don't want to. Same as everything else in life. The bigger message is that everyone wants a piece of this business, 60 minutes and CNN included. And they no longer want just the fun aspects like staging. They want find something that is actually newsworthy, so they are creating newsworthy stats.
Let the Feakonomics Boys play with it and have fun doing so. We all know it's all a bunch of crapola, whether the stats come from NAR or someplace else. Broad based stats are meaningless. But the industry clearly deserves the about play after all the stats they've printed in their favor for som many years.
As long as your one of the agents that takes customer service as their top priority, you will always have business.
In the hustle and bustle of todays world, Im surprised anyone would even think about doing it themselves. A Realtor is a professional at what they do, and the public shold let them do it.The selling process is not something that should be handled by anyone except a trained Professional.
If this FSBO thing takes off , what's the nest big thing? Do it yourself medical attention?
There maybe pockets out there in which the FSBO may do very well; however, the facts are, on average, home owners do better when they use a Realtor to sell their property than selling it themselves.
MICHAEL THOMPSON, MBA, Realtor
Century 21 Anderson Properties
www.MichaelThompsonProperties.com
The Buyer's objective is to also "Save" the commission, so the Seller's may not be NETTING any more money than with a realtor. What is not discussed is how many of the FSBO's are paying a Buyer's Agent?
This story about Madison, WI is not new. They apparantly have a pretty good Fsbo org there. The sales figures may be new, but the story is not.
Further, what kind of market is Madison? Are prices flat? Are people selling houses for the loan balance? If there is not much relocation business than everyone might just know each other. If that is the case, it might just take them longer to make a decision, to get qualified, to to sell their previous residence. I always thought that house appreciation of 6% per year was your 'beakeven' point. You needed to stay a year to recover closing (selling) costs. But some communities/States have very little appreciation.
I've been involved with many owners-sellers that wanted to "do everything themselves" AND THEIR WAY TOO. Not a pleasant transaction; in fact the statistics are that I think HALF self sellers said they would not do it again.
Also, some fee for service is not all inclusive; showings, advice, followup, and paperwork ARE EXTRA COST. And these fees are not inexpensive, and paid IN ADVANCE.
The question becomes: how MUCH did they ACTUALLY save? and was it really WOTRH it?
I would like to see HOW they did that study, and that goes for NAR's study too.
I want to thank everyone for contributing. I've been away from AR since my post and have just now been able to read the responses. And great final post by Rich. I LOL'd!!!! :-D
- Tchaka
I saw that someone else had written this up too but I agree this study wont hold up- time is worth the money and a realtor will sell it quicker and sell it correctly- less worry and getting through settlement! Cash or eliminate time and worry- Ill take the extra time and security!!!..Thanks for sharing Tchaka