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In my market I am seeing more and more people who have not been able to sell their homes with the help of a Realtor and the MLS, take their homes off the market and go FSBO. I don't see how this could work. I guess they think they can lower the price if they save the commission(s). But as a buyer, I am no more attracted to a stale house b/c the price is 25k less (because of no commissions) than otherwise. It's still stale.
I wonder why people are doing this, especially in this market. It seems to me that if you really want to sell, you just have to put it on the MLS at a reasonable price from the get-go. I don't see how putting it on the MLS for an unrealistic price, and then 6 months later selling it yourself at a small discount, is going to get it sold. What do you guys think?
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
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Well that's exactly how I sold my house. After going through 2 realtors, we successfully FSBO'd. My "stale" house apparantly was a great buy for someone who knew what the comps were. The new listing in my neighborhood priced $10k more than mine probably helped, too :-)
Guess how long we were FSBO? About 3 weeks. Who woulda thunk it?
I have a couple of sets of friends that bought FSBO's recently and they believe they got a better deal b/c of the "no commission" thing. As someone who's been to appraisal school - I know better. The first couple got stuck with shoddy repair work and the second couple were told by the sellers that they were "about to list it with an agent for a higher price" and my friends panicked and bought it. I think both couples probably overpaid for their homes.
I had considered trying to sell my home as a FSBO but thought better of it and listed with an agent. I'm sure some FSBO transactions are smooth and painless but I like having a professional on my side so I can shift my focus to other aspects of my move.
Location: Halfway between Number 4 Privet Drive and Forks, WA
1,516 posts, read 4,591,098 times
Reputation: 677
Quote:
Originally Posted by In the Pines
I have a couple of sets of friends that bought FSBO's recently and they believe they got a better deal b/c of the "no commission" thing. As someone who's been to appraisal school - I know better. The first couple got stuck with shoddy repair work and the second couple were told by the sellers that they were "about to list it with an agent for a higher price" and my friends panicked and bought it. I think both couples probably overpaid for their homes.
I had considered trying to sell my home as a FSBO but thought better of it and listed with an agent. I'm sure some FSBO transactions are smooth and painless but I like having a professional on my side so I can shift my focus to other aspects of my move.
Sounds like your friends should have had a buyer's agent AND an inpsection if they didn't know any better.
I love to sell FSBO's to my buyers. They generally get stellar deals, and I still get payed. Less paperwork, no direct advertising, and when the seller starts to ask questions I refer them to the contract, next thing you know they end up paying a lawyer on the side. They don't feel like they payed me a commission, but the buyers always look at the bottom line, and make there offer accordingly. If the buyer has some cute kids to bring to the showing it can really help too.
I know someone that had their home on the market for a year and a buyer watched the property because they thought it was overpriced. When the FSBO sign went up with a greatly reduced price they purchased it.
Did the sellers get a better deal than when listed with the MLS? No, they netted less even with the commissions gone, but it was not a lot less and they were happy to get it sold. It was a win for the buyer and a partial win for the seller (hey they got it sold).
Obviously there are stories of folks doing this successfully. Some sellers flip flop back and forth between agents and FSBO. Buyers are looking for bargains. If you can go FSBO and be a bargain, I don't think it hurts but you still have to get the word out.
What I see for the most part is overpriced MLS listings that turn into overpriced FSBO listings. Overpriced is overpriced regardless.
Not to go off track here but I never understood the "stale listing" as stated by the OP.
I can understand wanting to know how long a home has been on the market in terms of making an offer but because a home has been listed for a year or more it is stale?
This is especially amusing to me with homes that are 20-25 years old. Yes the home is older, is it now a stale older home because it has been on the market a while.
Especially in the market we have had where homes are not selling very quickly you are going to have many "stale" homes.
What happens to the home that makes it state? The sq ft is the same, it has the same paint and same number of bedrooms.
Did the sellers get a better deal than when listed with the MLS? No, they netted less even with the commissions gone, but it was not a lot less and they were happy to get it sold. It was a win for the buyer and a partial win for the seller (hey they got it sold).
This is an excellent point that I think many sellers lose sight of this during the journey. All that matters is the net proceeds. Most sellers who have managed to get closed and sold in the past 12 months will tell you that they wish they had priced it right, from the onset, because they often ended up chasing the market down.
In depreciating markets, more time on the market does not equate to more net proceeds.
Not to go off track here but I never understood the "stale listing" as stated by the OP.
I can understand wanting to know how long a home has been on the market in terms of making an offer but because a home has been listed for a year or more it is stale?
I am fond of using the term " stale donut". The longer a house sits unsold, the more likely buyers perceive there is something wrong with the house or the seller, perhaps both. Time on the market becomes a stigma.
I am fond of using the term " stale donut". The longer a house sits unsold, the more likely buyers perceive there is something wrong with the house or the seller, perhaps both. Time on the market becomes a stigma.
Agreed.
It sure is a stigma here, and a costly one, as many buyers interpret long DOM as blood in the water.
The question that has to be answered, often multiple times, is "Why has it been on the market so long?"
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I think both couples probably overpaid for their homes.
