Should You List Your Home as For Sale By Owner?

How do For Sale By Owner properties do in the current market? The National Association of Realtors recently released some interesting stats on FSBOs I want to share with you today.

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I want to share some statistics from the National Association of Realtors regarding people who sell their properties as For Sale By Owner, without the aid of a real estate professional. 

First, FSBOs accounted for 8% of all home sales in 2016. The typical For Sale By Owner home sold for an average of $190,000 compared to $249,000 for agent-assisted properties. You can see that there is a 23% differential there in terms of the average price for private sales versus agent-assisted sales. 

When it comes to marketing homes, 35% of FSBO sellers use yard signs; 24% use friends, family, or neighbors; 11% use online classified advertisements; 15% use open houses; 8% use FSBO websites; 13% use social networking sites; 26% use the MLS; and 5% advertise through print newspapers. If we look at print, 4% use direct mail flyers and postcards. Only 2% use video. 

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FSBOs only accounted for 8% of all home sales in 2016.

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That said, only 28% of FSBO sellers actually actively marketed their properties. 

Marketing is not the only challenge when selling on your own. What are the most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers? 

1. Getting the right price. 
2. Understanding and doing the paperwork that needs to be done.
3. Selling within the planned time frame (of which only 13% were able to achieve). 
4. Repairing and fixing up the home for sale (90% of FSBO sellers listed that as a challenge). 
5. Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the home sale. 

Only 3% of FSBO respondents indicated that they were able to be available full-time in order to facilitate a purchase. 

As you can see, listing your property as For Sale By Owner does come with a unique set of challenges. If you have any questions about selling your home or working with a real estate professional, just give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Explaining the Role of Appraisals in the Real Estate Process

People have a lot of questions about appraisals and what role they play in the real estate process. Today, I will be answering a couple of common inquiries.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

People often ask me, “Should we have an appraisal conducted prior to the sale?”

The answer isn’t as simple as “yes” or “no.” If your home is particularly unique and you therefore have absolutely no idea what your home’s market value is, it may be a good idea to have an appraisal conducted before your sale. 

However, one of the challenges with a unique property is that appraisers may not have the on-the-ground information an agent would when it comes to the specifics of your home.

You may order an appraisal of your own early on in your sale, but remember that the buyer will also have an appraisal ordered later on in the process. When two appraisals are conducted on the same property, it isn’t uncommon for the figures to have a disparity between them. 

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When two appraisals are conducted on the same property, it isn’t uncommon for the figures to have a disparity between them.

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Another question people often ask is, “What happens if the appraisal comes in higher than the sale price after you put your property into contract?” Well, the good news is that this means your sale can go through without any interference. On the other hand, if the appraisal comes in low and the buyer is relying on bank financing, the saleability of your property could be adversely impacted. 

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.