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I put my house on Zillow market a month ago. Great house in a convenient and popular neighborhood in Apex. I did my research and priced it very competitively vs other sold homes in the same neighborhood. I offered standard 2.4% commission. Had a lot of interest in the first 2 weeks from buyers and realtors so I hosted an open house and lots of promising buyers came and sounded interested, but since then it’s been complete silence.
- Will a yard sign help?
- Will using a flat fee and putting it on MLS help?
- Do buyer agents have prejudice against showing buyers flat fee listings?
- Is Zillow like MLS where people see a fresh listing and interest usually peaks in the first week and then tails down? Anyway to “refresh” a Zillow listing?
- Should I follow up with the buyers for feedback or will they find that annoying?
Not sure what I am doing wrong short of just hiring an agent, but I’ve been pretty successful selling my previous houses FSBO.
I put my house on Zillow market a month ago. Great house in a convenient and popular neighborhood in Apex. I did my research and priced it very competitively vs other sold homes in the same neighborhood. I offered standard 2.4% commission. Had a lot of interest in the first 2 weeks from buyers and realtors so I hosted an open house and lots of promising buyers came and sounded interested, but since then it’s been complete silence.
- Will a yard sign help?
- Will using a flat fee and putting it on MLS help?
- Do buyer agents have prejudice against showing buyers flat fee listings?
- Is Zillow like MLS where people see a fresh listing and interest usually peaks in the first week and then tails down? Anyway to “refresh” a Zillow listing?
- Should I follow up with the buyers for feedback or will they find that annoying?
Not sure what I am doing wrong short of just hiring an agent, but I’ve been pretty successful selling my previous houses FSBO.
- Will a yard sign help?
Yes.
- Will using a flat fee and putting it on MLS help?
Yes.
- Do buyer agents have prejudice against showing buyers flat fee listings?
Not really.
- Is Zillow like MLS where people see a fresh listing and interest usually peaks in the first week and then tails down?
Yes.
Anyway to “refresh” a Zillow listing?
Don't know.
- Should I follow up with the buyers for feedback or will they find that annoying?
Yes. And, yes, some will. Move on to the next one. I would be curious to learn what is putting them off.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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I'm going to suggest you use a realtor. Your fighting a losing battle unless your selling underpriced houses that need work or something in the trendiest neighborhood where there isn't much available stock. Realtors know people LOOKING for houses. Invaluable in a saturated market.
I'd be curious why the buyer's aren't interested. I would call them up and just ask them for honest feedback. Be prepared for the answers and take what they say into consideration. Try to look at your house as neutrally as possible, ask friends what they think about it. My friend had horrible paint colors in all her main rooms and kept telling me the color of the paint shouldn't matter, people should look past it, perhaps so but once she painted everything a very neutral color the house sold fast. It could be any number of things putting buyers off.
Honestly though, my best tip is to hire a Realtor. We have some awesome ones that post here regularly. (and no, I am not a Realtor)
I'd be curious why the buyer's aren't interested. I would call them up and just ask them for honest feedback. Be prepared for the answers and take what they say into consideration. Try to look at your house as neutrally as possible, ask friends what they think about it. My friend had horrible paint colors in all her main rooms and kept telling me the color of the paint shouldn't matter, people should look past it, perhaps so but once she painted everything a very neutral color the house sold fast. It could be any number of things putting buyers off.
Honestly though, my best tip is to hire a Realtor. We have some awesome ones that post here regularly. (and no, I am not a Realtor)
Ditto all of this.
We tried to go the MLS-only, no-Realtor route for our starter house. Lots of nibbles, no bites. The Realtor we hired only changed 3-4 things in what we, ourselves, had done to market the house, but they made all the difference.
It's like the saw about the plumber getting paid $100 to install a $0.50 part. Seems unreasonable until you realize you have no idea how to install the part, as cheap as the bit might be.
I'm going to suggest you use a realtor. Your fighting a losing battle unless your selling underpriced houses that need work or something in the trendiest neighborhood where there isn't much available stock. Realtors know people LOOKING for houses. Invaluable in a saturated market.
I disagree. I've sold 3 houses without a realtor, most recently a year ago. It's really not that hard. My most significant suggestion is to get your house listed on MLS asap. And bump the commission up to 2.5% or 3.0%. (2.5% if you do not have a lot of competition in your price range and immediate area. 3% if you do.) And perhaps re-list on Zillow as well. Folks do look at the number of days the house has been on Zillow, and make judgements accordingly.
You definitely need a sign in the yard. Get one from Home Depot or Lowes. Open houses are important too. Make sure that the Open House info is put onto Zillow and MLS at least a week in advance as well.
Make a one page flyer that shows photos, lists room sizes, and lists any significant upgrades you've made to the property. Keep them handy inside when you have prospective buyers in the house. Also try to have them available outside. You can also get a plastic box at HD or Lowes that will attach to the sign - so folks driving around can stop and grab one. Make sure phone numbers are prominent.
You said you sold several other homes FSBO? What worked there?
I have only sold my parents' home as-is FSBO to an interested neighbor down the street (for her grown daughter), so I don't have a lot of experience, but I do think a yard sign at least would help. I know I notice those and pass that info along to folks I know who are looking.
I put my house on Zillow market a month ago. Great house in a convenient and popular neighborhood in Apex. I did my research and priced it very competitively vs other sold homes in the same neighborhood. I offered standard 2.4% commission. Had a lot of interest in the first 2 weeks from buyers and realtors so I hosted an open house and lots of promising buyers came and sounded interested, but since then it’s been complete silence.
- Will a yard sign help?
- Will using a flat fee and putting it on MLS help?
- Do buyer agents have prejudice against showing buyers flat fee listings?
- Is Zillow like MLS where people see a fresh listing and interest usually peaks in the first week and then tails down? Anyway to “refresh” a Zillow listing?
- Should I follow up with the buyers for feedback or will they find that annoying?
Not sure what I am doing wrong short of just hiring an agent, but I’ve been pretty successful selling my previous houses FSBO.
First mistake: holding a FSBO open house. You don't know whether the people who came through your home were real buyers, friends of neighbors, burglars, or just didn't have anything to do that day. There are people who look at open houses simply to be nosey and are well practiced in what questions to ask and how to look "interested".
Yes, a flat fee agent may help, and will get the listing into MLS. However, if a cooperating broker/agency procures a buyer, they will charge a fee in the 2-3% range. A huge percentage of homes are sold through "co-brokes". So you really are not saving much.
Buyers agents have no prejudice against showing flat fee listings, because they will get paid via the MLS rules as explained in the previous paragraph.
Zillow will get listings posted similar to MLS; however, the agent has to pay a fee to get his/her listings into Zillow. Therefore, all MLS listings are not in Zillow; and many agents feel there is no true advantage to Zillow. Realtor Dot Com is the only reliable website through the National Assoc. of Realtors.
Following up with "buyers" ? That is not something I personally would do. Why? because even if you have a "sign in" sheet to obtain their names and phone nos., most potential buyers may leave their name, but they won't leave their phone number. If they do write a phone number, chances are it is not their real phone number. Because ... they don't want to be bothered by an owner. And ... they are most likely working with an agent.
Remember this: you only have one house to sell. A buyer has several to consider, and an agent has several qualified people he/she is working with. Experienced agents will have a "Buyers Agency Agreement" agreed to and signed by the buyers that the buyer will purchase exclusively through that agent.
I was a Realtor for many years, and always sold my own house, or sold it through my office. When I bought a home, I always worked with another agent.
Don't waste more time; get a good flat fee agent, and give it 60 days to see how it works out. Do not shut out the majority of agents who have the expertise and ability to get you to a closing. If you cannot buy another house before you sell this one, you are also at a disadvantage.
Wow! Thanks for all the great tips.
I think MLS exposure is definitely needed, or else I'm not sure how Realtor agents know about the house other than a handful that scan Zillow.
So hiring an listing agent is good for the exposure of potential buyers they know?
Is that only as good as the network of clients they know?
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We have some awesome ones that post here regularly. (and no, I am not a Realtor)
