From the NY Times:
One City’s Home Sellers Do Better on Their Own
It sounds like the setup for a dull economist’s joke. Who gets the better deal: the cautious economist who sells his house through a real estate agent, or his risk-taking colleague who finds a buyer on his own?
But the question — debated by two Northwestern University economists who chose different methods to sell their homes — and the research it helped prompt are serious. And the answer will be of interest to anyone who has paused to consider whether paying a real estate agent’s commission, typically 5 to 6 percent of the sale price, is worth it.
The conclusion, in a study to be released today based on home-sales data from 1998 to 2004 in Madison, Wis., is that people in that city who sold their homes through real estate agents typically did not get a higher sale price than people who sold their homes themselves. When the agent’s commission is factored in, the for-sale-by-owner people came out ahead financially.
…
There are asterisks. The authors cautioned that they did not know whether the results from Madison applied to the country as a whole; certainly, selling a house without a real estate agent would be harder in a city without a heavily trafficked for-sale-by-owner Web site. The authors are also analyzing Madison data from 2005 and 2006, when the housing market cooled after a long run-up, to see how their findings might have changed.Some aspects tilted in agents’ favor. The researchers found that homes on the multiple listing service sold somewhat faster than houses on the for-sale-by-owner site. The study also did not place a value on other services provided by agents in selling a home.
You can get on MLS (Realtor.com) through online brokers who will list your property for a few hundred dollars. They are all over the internet now. You will however need to list how much you will pay the buyers agent. In our market, 2.5% is the norm. But you can take the savings by not having a listing agent and give some of it to the buyers agent.
I had my property listed with a 3% buyers agent commission. I priced my property 3% below my competitors and sold in 2 months. The 3% to the buyers agent really generated a lot of interest. Plus the fact that I was able to price my property below market because I did have to pay a sellers agent. There are homes in my neighborhood that have been on MLS for over a year.
I friend of mine did the same thing and sold his house quickly. He lucked out, his buyer didn’t have a realtor so he also saved on the buyers agent commission.
REA bring value to their family, their bank accounts, and their retirement plan. Not yours.
between 2000 and 2005 they brought no value whatsover. The demand was high, supply was low and buyers were thankfull and appreciative to overpay for your property.
REA could bring some value in a down market where there are limited number of buyers. I would alow a REA to list my home only if he has at least three qualified buyers already on the sideline looking to purchase in my area. If he can create some traffic first then he can make his money.
Just to list it and get 15K, will never happen with me.
Mike,
I was selling my house, but seems to me that my agent was pushing me to sell instead of helping me to get the best price. Disappointed. Now I am temporary off the market. Hopefully I can try this after the contact end.
Would you mind send me the online broker link?
Thanks,
007
Try any of the following:
http://www.listbyowneronmls.com/index.php?source=Google&cd=google
http://www.flatfeemlslisting.com
http://www.valuemls.com
There are others.
Thank you Mike.
I have to check the “protection period” on the contract I signed with my current selling agent.
Thanks again.
I just met a few people who were talking about redoing this site.
http:\\www.InteriorLiving.Com
They have a lot of ideas I have never seen on a site before. They are planning to re-do it in the fall but I thought I would share it because the name is much better than most other housing sites.
A MLS listing on Realtor.Com costs $50.00
Parasite Tour Guide, was I think Booya Bob’s summation. For the vast majority, sounds about right.
Housing Stocks Tumble on Higher Rates, Threat of Continued Price Declines
The pool of would-be home buyers has already been drying up as banks tighten lending criteria amid a meltdown of the supreme mortgage sector, which lends to people with spotty credit histories. Other buyers have been staying away as home prices fall because they do not want to invest in an asset that may depreciate.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070607/housing_sector_snap.html?.v=1
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USA TODAY: Housing slowdown smacks Realtors hard
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-06-08-realtor-usat_N.htm
FLASH: PIMCO’s bond guru Bill Gross predicts US housing market to be “decimated”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/19108336
http://housingpanic.blogspot.com/2007/06/flash-pimcos-bond-guru-bill-gross.html
“These increases in rates over the past few days have placed the 30-year mortgage market at close to 7% in conventional terms,” said Gross, chief investment officer for Pacific Investment Management Co. and manager of the world’s largest bond fund.
“This will decimate the housing market if it wasn’t already decimated before, and certainly put the Fed on hold, and maybe allow the Fed to reduce rates…six to nine months from now.”