FSBO World
These were two comments that were recently posted on the Property Grunt.
"grunt,
what are your thoughts on the FSBOs that have gotten a lot of attention these days? I seem to read about a great FSBO sale or see one in the Times every other weekend. Online too on various blogs."
"And I'm seeing FSBO fliers posted around the neighborhood. For the first time in YEARS. What does it mean?"
In my experience it means two things.
1. Some sellers have become desperate. They have tried the broker route and seeing little or no results they are now becoming aware that the market has turned against them. By going fsbo they have rid themselves of this sense of powerlessness and by putting their own skin in the game they feel they can expedite the process in a quicker and more efficient fashion.
2. Some sellers have become more educated and realize that the 6% commission is a mighty big chunk of change especially when the market has begun to go south and they will be getting less of a return on their property. So they might as well try it on their own.
Of course there will be sellers who will reach their brain damage threshold and simply hire a broker but the FSBO movement will not be a passing fad much to the chagrin of brokers. Marketing is a huge cost for brokers and is used to justify their commissions but sellers now have other marketing options that are free.
However, you get what you pay for. When you go FSBO, it is all in your hands. Therefore you don't have a broker to yell at if something goes wrong. However if you can pull it off, you can save alot of money.
"grunt,
what are your thoughts on the FSBOs that have gotten a lot of attention these days? I seem to read about a great FSBO sale or see one in the Times every other weekend. Online too on various blogs."
"And I'm seeing FSBO fliers posted around the neighborhood. For the first time in YEARS. What does it mean?"
In my experience it means two things.
1. Some sellers have become desperate. They have tried the broker route and seeing little or no results they are now becoming aware that the market has turned against them. By going fsbo they have rid themselves of this sense of powerlessness and by putting their own skin in the game they feel they can expedite the process in a quicker and more efficient fashion.
2. Some sellers have become more educated and realize that the 6% commission is a mighty big chunk of change especially when the market has begun to go south and they will be getting less of a return on their property. So they might as well try it on their own.
Of course there will be sellers who will reach their brain damage threshold and simply hire a broker but the FSBO movement will not be a passing fad much to the chagrin of brokers. Marketing is a huge cost for brokers and is used to justify their commissions but sellers now have other marketing options that are free.
However, you get what you pay for. When you go FSBO, it is all in your hands. Therefore you don't have a broker to yell at if something goes wrong. However if you can pull it off, you can save alot of money.
posted by Grunt at
8:39 AM
