David Barr's Sarasota and Venice Real Estate Blog

A new study shows that for sale by owner properties (FSBO's) tend to sell for lower prices than properties sold through Realtors through the MLS, and in many cases below the differential of what it would cost in Realtor compensation.  The study was conducted on data  from home sold from 2016 through the first half of 2017. FSBO's sell for less than those sold by a Realtor, study finds FSBO's attempt to avoid paying a Realtor fee by selling their home on their own, but it can backfire with a much lower than market sales price and the time the seller has to invest in the sale.  The study found that FSBO sales averaged 6 percent lower than those involving a Realtor. Click here for the detailed results of the study from Collateral Analytics Research. SOURCE:  "Saving Real Estate Commissions at Any Price", Collateral Analytics Rearch

The topic of for sale by owner, of FSBO, deserves an update in terms of how owners who try to sell their homes themselves in today's market face a lot of issues they may not be able to handle themselves. 1) Property valuation :  A lot of people think Zillow and Trulia are the authoritative word when it comes to real estate values.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In Sarasota, Zillow overvalues the median sales price of single family homes, compared to the MLS.  Read more here on my real estate website:   www.davidbarrhomes.com/debunking_zillow . 2) Showings :  In the Sarasota area, most buyers come from out of town and those buyers select a local agent to represent them.  Are you willing to work with a real estate agent representing a buyer?  Will you be available to show the home when the buyer is available?  If you want to sell your home on your own, you have to be flexible to accommodate the buyer's schedule, who often has l...