|
The Facts About FSBOs |
|
Each year a small army of home sellers throw caution to the
wind and go it alone without the assistance of a licensed real estate professional.
This ever-decreasing band of risk-takers, ventures into the
land of pricing, marketing, screening, scheduling, showing and paperwork, with
the goal of saving some money. It's often an experience they find less than
rewarding.
The numbers (if not the sellers) tell the story.
Last year, 13 percent of all sellers chose the FSBO (For
Sale By Owner) route, according to NARs 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. This is down
from about 18 percent eight years ago. But more telling than the decline in FSBOs is the fact that more than a third of all FSBOs sold their homes to someone they knew prior to the
transaction. This means that only 8 percent of all home sales are arm's-length
FSBO transactions.
From NAR's 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Only half of last years FSBOs say
they plan to go it alone again, so expect to see these numbers go down even
further in the years ahead.
Several factors appear to account for the decline in
for-sale-by-owners: the increasing complexity of the transaction process, with
more disclosures and legal requirement than ever before; the amount of time
required to market and show property; and security concerns about the
motivation of strangers dealing directly with owners and walking through their
homes.
And, getting back to the money part after all is said and
done, FSBOs dont always come out with fatter
wallets. Again, the numbers tell the truth.
Sellers make more money when they use a real estate
professional.
Homes sold with the help of a real estate professional last
year sold on average for 16 percent more than FSBO sales. The median FSBO
selling price in 2005 was $198,000, compared with $230,000 for agent-assisted
transactions.
