A recent survey from the National Association of REALTORS found that just 48% of sellers would use the same agent agin. 

 

​Many sellers are turning to off-market real estate transactions otherwise referred to as For Sale By Owner or FSBO. The same NAR survey found that For Sale By Owner accounted for 11% of home sales in 2018. That's 605,000 homes and roughly $121 billion worth of housing inventory.

 

If you're thinking about selling your home without an agent, you need to understand that all else equal, listing FSBO without an agent results in lower purchase prices. The reason is simple: *the [Multiple Listing Service](https://offermarket.us/real-estate-glossary/multiple-listing-service) (MLS) is an incredibly powerful marketing channel.* This will come as no surprise when you review the FSBO marketing methods utilization rates below.

 

## FSBO methods used to market home: 

 

- None (did not actively market home): 36%
- Yard sign: 31%
- Open house: 24%
- Friends, relatives, or neighbors: 21%
- [Multiple Listing Service](https://offermarket.us/real-estate-glossary/multiple-listing-service) (MLS) website: 20%
- Online classified advertisements: 13%
- Social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.): 11%
- For-sale-by-owner websites: 5%
- Direct mail (flyers, postcards, etc.): 4%
- Video: 1%
- Print newspaper advertisement: less than 1%

 

## 91% of FSBO Listings Are Overpriced

 

OfferMarket collected data on over 1,000 For Sale By Owner listings in Baltimore and Tampa and found that 91% of For Sale By Owner listings are priced too high. This results in FSBO listings generating low interest and awareness, taking a longer time to sell, and a higher than average number of price reductions to find a more appropriate market price.

 

We believe the primary reason that the majority of FSBO listings we studied are overpriced is because owners simply do not have the skill, knowledge and experience necessary to list the property at a price point that will attract optimal interest. Many FSBO sellers are simply out of touch with the true value of their home. This is especially true when markets shift from seller to buyer's market, the seller becomes anchored to the higher and no longer relevant valuation range.

 

## [Free Real Estate Valuation Report](https://www.offermarket.us/tools/free-real-estate-valuation?ref=blog-for-sale-by-owner-fsbo-statistics)

 

## FSBO Playbook: Make Buyers Compete For Your Home

 

Just because traditional For Sale By Owner often does not produce as positive an outcome as listing with a real estate agent does not mean you need to list with a real estate agent.

 

If you want to sell your home without an agent, here is the simple playbook:

## 1. Price your listing attractively.

 

Study the current market conditions, identify recent comparable home sales and current listings.

 

## 2. Use your commission-free terms to your advantage. 

 

If you're not paying the typical 5-6% broker commission, use some of your savings to undercut your competition and deliver more value to buyers. A good deal paired with good distribution will capture their attention.

 

## 3. Make your property stand out. 

 

With a limited budget you can make your house worthy of a closer look from interested buyers. 

 
​
- Deep clean ($150)
- Power wash ($200)
- Professional photography ($250)

 

## 4. Make buyers compete for your home.

 

Competition makes buyers submit their best offer and take action quickly for fear of missing out. Awareness drives interest, interest drives competition.

 

When you sell your home with OfferMarket, you pay 0% commission and gain access to a powerful marketing platform that makes qualified buyers compete for your property.

 

## OfferMarket is an alternative to FSBO: [create your free marketplace listing](https://www.offermarket.us/sell?ref=blog-for-sale-by-owner-fsbo-statistics)

11% of houses sold in 2018 were For Sale by Owner (FSBO) listings. That is 605,000 homes and roughly $121 billion worth of housing inventory. Review these surprising For Sale By Owner statistics.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics - Real Estate Blogs - OfferMarket

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics

This is a true story. Two houses with identical floor plans and similar quality finishes were listed in a desirable Baltimore City neighborhood at the same time (Summer 2020), for the same price. One was listed For Sale By Owner, the other was listed by a REALTOR®.​

 

## Home A

 

Home A was beautifully photographed and listed For Sale By Owner (“FSBO”) on Zillow at a carefully researched and attractive price based on recent [comps](https://offermarket.us/real-estate-glossary/comps). The seller created a dedicated website for the property and posted it in the local neighborhood association Facebook group. A buyer found the listing on the Facebook group and scheduled a time to see it with their buyer’s agent. The buyer’s agent missed the appointment and the buyer decided to submit an offer at asking price but requested a 2% seller concession to pay the buyer’s agent ($7,000) which the seller agreed to and went under contract within 1 week of listing. The buyer’s agent, acting in this transaction as nothing more than an expensive document preparer, added nowhere near an appropriate amount of value to justify their commission, and the seller and buyer were both understandably irritated by this. A real estate lawyer could have drafted the docs for $250, saving $6,750 for the seller.

 

## Home B

 

Home B used a listIng agent but insisted on listing 5% higher than the listing agent recommended. The house was slightly less attractive in its finishes and how it photographed. There is no indication the house has been marketed anywhere except the MLS. The house sat on the market for over 120 days before going under contract. If/when the transaction closes we will update this post. We expect the seller will likely have lowered the price to the original recommended range, paid 6% in brokerage fees and have delayed their move-out plans by the length of time it went unsold.

 

## Morals of the story:​

 

- You need to price your property attractively, this is the #1 mistake we see, especially from FSBO sellers. From our research, we estimate that over 90% of FSBO listings are overpriced.
- If you list FSBO, you need to put in a lot of work (comp research, marketing, coordination), price the house attractively, have someone you trust review the Purchase And Sale Agreement and associated disclosure docs.
- If you list with an agent you need to trust their suggested listing price or do your own comp research.
- Listing agents may only leverage MLS instead of other relevant channels, you need an agent that can use other technologies and platforms, especially social media. Make them earn their commission!
- To save money selling without a Realtor, you need to generate buyer awareness and create buyer demand.

 

## [Make buyers compete for your house, sell commission-free on OfferMarket.](https://www.offermarket.us/sell?ref=blog-should-you-sell-your-house-without-a-real-estate-agent)

Two houses with identical floor plans and similar quality finishes were listed in a desirable Baltimore City neighborhood at the same time (Summer 2020), for the same price. One FSBO, the other by a REALTOR®.

Should you sell your house without a real estate agent? - OfferMarket

Should you sell your house without a real estate agent?

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Baltimore Investment Properties - Real Estate Blogs - OfferMarket

Baltimore Investment Properties

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