2023 Real Estate Observations (supermarkets, compare, dance)

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by msRB311

To defend newenglandgal it sounds like she has sold multiple homes over the years. In that situation I can see why you'd maybe just want to do it yourself. I'm guessing she knows what she's doing and in the end likely saves money. I could especially see going without a realtor if you're used to selling homes in a hot real estate market like the Boston area

You're always posting about houses that sold for way above list price.

Were any of those FSBO?

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I'm guessing she knows what she's doing and in the end likely saves money.

I'm guessing she likely leaves money on the table.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by redplum33

You're always posting about houses that sold for way above list price.

Were any of those FSBO?

No idea. Most people use a realtor. I have sold two homes in my life and I used a realtors. If I was a flipper or was someone who moved frequently i maybe wouldn't

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

It is to those who lack/or are not confident in their own negotiating skills which is one reason so many folks hire an agent vs FSBO.

Yeah. My experience is that people who think they need the help of an agent the least are typically the one's who actually could benefit the most from it.

I mean I could deliver the mail like my postman does and from what I can see and know it delivering the mail seems to be a pretty simple process. However, my mailman does it day in and day out and I have no doubt that even though I could accomplish the same task that he's WAY better at it than I am. When you translate the benefit of skill and experience to a situation where you're dealing with an asset worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars why would you mess around? Just my opinion and apparently the opinion of the majority of people as it's a fairly small percentage of homes that sell FSBO even in the current seller's market where my job appears to the untrained eye to be easier than ever.

Originally Posted by id77

I'll be the first to say some realtors around here get way too much for how little they put in to selling a home

I'll be the second to say it. One of the major issues in my industry that contributes largely to our public perception issue is the low barrier to entry and general lack of training/mentorship throughout the industry. Maybe 20% of agents are worth hiring at all and probably only 5% of agents are actually good at what they do.

Originally Posted by id77

The time factor has already been called out. Maybe your time isn't worth much but mine is. Paying a selling agent to manage listings, arrange for photographs, screen calls, manage open houses and offers, and deal with other things isn't about ability but convenience. While he/she's doing all that I'm out doing what I want to do with my time, and that's worth money.

I've found in this world you can usually lump people into one of two categories . . . people who value time over money and people who value money over time. My mother taught me to value money over time when I was younger. She would always go to 4 different supermarkets every week so she could grab the various sale items from each one that she needed. Very time consuming but she had an excess of time. I have very little free time these days and so my time is very valuable to me. I go to the supermarket once a week and I go to one store and I pay whatever the prices are in that store that week.

Sometimes this attitude comes from what you were taught in your younger days. Sometimes it comes from life experiences (my grandparents learned a lot of habits during the Great Depression that never left them until the day they died). Sometimes people just place less value on things they have an abundance of.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by id77

I'll be the first to say some realtors around here get way too much for how little they put in to selling a home, but this is just lol.

The time factor has already been called out. Maybe your time isn't worth much but mine is. Paying a selling agent to manage listings, arrange for photographs, screen calls, manage open houses and offers, and deal with other things isn't about ability but convenience. While he/she's doing all that I'm out doing what I want to do with my time, and that's worth money.

I'm good at taking my own home photos but in the past I've also hired that piece out to a pro real estate photog for $150. Again, as I said I work from home so it's not lost time for me. I'm home anyways and can easily accommodate showings at all hours during the day (unless of course I have a teams call or something).

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by redplum33

I'm guessing she likely leaves money on the table.

No, I don't. I already have a pretty good idea what my homes will sell for and if it's more than what the set price is...the buyers will decide that by offering over which I have had happen. Before I list I usually interview a few local agents to check my research up against what they have to say. I compare their CMA's, suggested list price to my data. I also tell them that I decided I'll be doing FSBO but am offering commission so if they have buyers feel free to bring them. It gives those handful of agents I interviewed a sneak preview and starts to build a little buzz where they can say to their clients...hey I know of this home going on the market soon in your price range/ area. Then I pay to get in the MLS and offer a 2% buyer's agent commission. Couple days later....I'm usually under agreement and on my way to making an offer on my next place.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by id77

I'll be the first to say some realtors around here get way too much for how little they put in to selling a home, but this is just lol.

The time factor has already been called out. Maybe your time isn't worth much but mine is. Paying a selling agent to manage listings, arrange for photographs, screen calls, manage open houses and offers, and deal with other things isn't about ability but convenience. While he/she's doing all that I'm out doing what I want to do with my time, and that's worth money.

Time is not an issue for me. I WFH so can accommodate showings, cleaning/staging/taking my own pics. Let's face it, some folks don't know how to talk to other people, they could have things spewing out of their mouth that buyers don't need to hear, etc. and wouldn't be great at doing FSBO. Lots of folks (including some agents ) also don't know how to clean/stage/take clear photographs of the homes either. That makes a huge difference too. Can't tell you how many blurry, bad photos I see on listings by agents.

[simplexsimon]

You can also negotiate the seller's commission...when we bought my agent got his 2.5% but the seller's agent got 1.875%. I don't know how common that is or how low an agent will go, but there's room to negotiate there as well especially in high dollar markets.

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

You can also negotiate the seller's commission...when we bought my agent got his 2.5% but the seller's agent got 1.875%. I don't know how common that is or how low an agent will go, but there's room to negotiate there as well especially in high dollar markets.

Take a $700K house as an example....Buyer agent (your agent) got $17,500 (minus whatever he/she has to pay as a cut to their brokerage)


Seller agent got $13,125 (minus whatever cut they pay their brokerage).....maybe this was a high volume agent or it was a challenging home to sell who was just happy to get an offer and put a deal together so they didn't mind taking a ~$4K cut.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by newenglandgal123

Take a $700K house as an example....Buyer agent (your agent) got $17,500 (minus whatever he/she has to pay as a cut to their brokerage)


Seller agent got $13,125 (minus whatever cut they pay their brokerage).....maybe this was a high volume agent or it was a challenging home to sell who was just happy to get an offer and put a deal together so they didn't mind taking a ~$4K cut.

High volume for sure, at the time it felt like she sold half the homes in town. That and she was the seller's babysitter at one point 40 years ago.