When demand exceeds supply by a substantial amount, as it has the last couple of years in Southwest Florida, more sellers try to save money by going it alone – but For Sale by Owner (FSBO) properties dropped to 7% in today’s unstable market, the lowest level since 1981.
The volatile housing market over the last couple of years has driven more consumers to use real estate professionals rather than attempting to sell on their own. This is in contrast as recently as 15 years ago - the last time before the housing market really "boomed" - when 12% of sellers went the FSBO route during the 2006 housing boom, as shown by this year's data.
In fact, even in last year's sellers' market, with bidding wars pushing list prices through the roof, 90% of sellers still worked with an agent to market their home to get the best price, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR) research. Clearly the large majority of sellers have gotten the message that hiring a realtor to market your home for sale is a value proposition.
Surveys show that the top things sellers expect Realtors to do for them are:
Pricing a home competitively
Marketing to potential buyers
Negotiating a deal
When your realtor performs these services well, the increase in the sale price of your home will more than justify the fees you pay to have him or her market your home.
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