Why Are FBSOs Losing Money in Today’s Market?

Selling your home on your own in today’s market almost guarantees you’ll lose money. Here’s why.

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There are lot of sellers in our market trying to sell their home as FSBO, and unfortunately, they’re losing money. Why is this? There are a few key reasons.

First, without the help of a professional agent, FSBOs can either overprice or underprice their property. Underpricing your home means you’ll leave money on the table during its sale. Overpricing it means it will sit on the market and get passed over in favor of other homes.

They’re also advertising their home it to a very limited pool of buyers. Real estate professionals, by comparison, have the opportunity to expose your home to a lot of buyers.

Speaking of that, FSBOs also lose out on the opportunity to invite multiple offers. In my 30 years, I’ve never see the opportunity like we have right now to generate multiple offers for your home. We had a listing this past week that snagged 15 offers. When your home generates multiple offers, its sale price goes up.

FSBO homes sell for 5.5% less on average than comparable homes in the MLS that are represented by agents. What does that tell you? Someone was hoping to save on commission costs, and it turns out it was the buyer instead of the seller, so the seller ended up with the same amount of money in their pocket they would have had they let an agent help them.

If you want to make the most money in the least amount of time, put your house in the hands of a capable real estate professional.

Lastly, when you don’t have an agent to help you, you take on all the liability for the disclosures, repairs, and everything else that’s happening in the transaction.

If you want to make the most money in the least amount of time, particularly in this market where you can get multiple offers, put your house in the hands of a capable real estate professional.

If you have any questions or you’d like to know what your home is worth in today’s market, give us a call or shoot us an email. I’d be happy to help you.