Friday, March 12, 2010
Fewer Sellers Go FSBO in Slow Market
When the housing market slows, sellers know it can be a lot tougher to turn their property into a buyer magnet. With more homes on the market and increased pressure on pricing, buyers have more power in the process.
For-sale-by-owner transaction have fallen over the past decade to 12 percent of all sales today from 18 percent in 1997, says the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
NAR spokesman Walter Molony says sellers believe real estate practitioners are better equipped to achieve fast sales at top dollar in a weak market, adding that the median price for agent-assisted transactions was about 16 percent higher than FSBO sales last year. Practitioners orchestrate showings, handle paperwork, and identify serious buyers for sellers, Moloney says.
NAR's 2006 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers shows that 5 percent of sales from mid-2005 to mid-2006 involved FSBO sellers turning to a real estate professional, with only 1 percent of sales involving sellers who abandoned their practitioner to go it alone.
Source: Investor's Business Daily, Brad Kelly (01/19/07)
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