Market Changes Favor Fsbos
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th
Drastic paradigm shifts in how the residential real estatemarket works have been on the way for several years now. Thechange has really become apparent over the last year. It iseasier for people to sell their homes themselves as FSBOs (forsale by owner) as a result. Let's look at how things used towork and how they work now in regard to the traditional methodof using a real estate brokerage firm, and I think you'll seewhy.
Real Estate Sales - The Old Way
Not so long ago, most people who wanted to buy a home would goto a real estate broker's office. They would meet with an agentand tell him or her what sort of home they were looking for. Theagent would advise the buyer to get a lender letter (if theydidn't already have one) and give
them a short list of lenders.The agent would then do a computer search of the Realtormultiple listing services for them.
After the agent found properties which met the buyer's criteria,the agent and buyer would develop a list of properties the buyerwanted to see. The agent would print these out and makearrangements for the buyer to see them. They'd get into theagent's car and go from house to house until the buyer foundsomething he wanted to buy. Then they'd work up a contract offertogether. Sometimes this process could be completed in one day(especially if the buyer already had a lender letter in hand).Sometimes it took several days' sessions.
Real Estate Sales - The New Way
Today most homebuyers do their own computer searches. They mayhave favorite sites like realtor.com or homes.com, or they maydo a generic search engine search to find a site. Some do searchengine searches specific to the area where they want to buy,such as "San Diego + California + homes for sale." Results tendto turn up both sites with Realtors' listings and sites withFSBO homes.
Today's buyers tend to call an agent about Realtor listings(often making an appointment to meet at the home) and callowners about FSBO listings. Many buyers are confident enough tolook at both. Less experienced buyers may do their own searchesand then ask an agent to show them the Realtor listings whichinterest them. Then, if they feel comfortable with the agent,ask if the agent can show them the FSBO homes as well. Mostwill. Especially if the buyer is willing to sign a "BuyerBroker" agreement.
Exceptions
There are now (and perhaps always will be) people who prefer towork with an agent in the old way. People who are very busyearning a good living are an example of one group which is aptto want someone else to do "pick and shovel work" for them.Older people who have lived in their homes a long time and wantsomething they can handle with less work are also apt toappreciate full, old fashioned real estate service from agents.Still, larger and larger numbers of people are doing their owninitial searches. These searches tend to turn up FSBOs as wellas Realtors' listings. In fact more and more people are actuallydoing searches specifically designed to seek out FSBO listings.
The New Tilt
I think you can see why this movement toward buyers' doing theirown initial searches on the Internet works in favor of FSBOsellers. The propensity for some buyers to include "FSBO" intheir search criteria tilts things even further in favor ofowners who are selling their own properties. These seeminglysimple changes have completely restructured the way theresidential real estate market works. If you're a FSBO, you cansmile all the way to the bank.
About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes forsale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own homeyourself with a free 1 month listing.
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