Hi,

I live in the United Kingdom and I would be interested to find out more
about how people sell their homes in America. Over here most people
still use real estate agents and often pay £1000's in fees. Is this
the case in the US or are more people selling their own homes without
an agent? I hear that around 30% of people in the US now sell
privately, is this true?

The reason I am interested is that I run an online property website to
allow people to sell their own homes without an agent, I find over here
that people are very resistent to make the change to selling their own
homes, many see it as a risk. Getting an idea of the situation in the
US will help me predict the trend over here in the UK.

In article .com,
wrote:

I live in the United Kingdom and I would be interested to find out more
about how people sell their homes in America. Over here most people
still use real estate agents and often pay £1000's in fees. Is this
the case in the US or are more people selling their own homes without
an agent? I hear that around 30% of people in the US now sell
privately, is this true?

Most homes are still sold either by a developer or builder (for new
homes) and real estate agents for used homes. Some people try to
go FSBO (for sale by owner), but studies have shown that these
people usually sell for about 16% less than what is expected in
a given market. The bottom line is that it is too costly to sell
real estate on your own.

-john-

--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

John A. Weeks III wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

I live in the United Kingdom and I would be interested to find out more
about how people sell their homes in America. Over here most people
still use real estate agents and often pay £1000's in fees. Is this
the case in the US or are more people selling their own homes without
an agent? I hear that around 30% of people in the US now sell
privately, is this true?

Most homes are still sold either by a developer or builder (for new
homes) and real estate agents for used homes. Some people try to
go FSBO (for sale by owner), but studies have shown that these
people usually sell for about 16% less than what is expected in
a given market. The bottom line is that it is too costly to sell
real estate on your own.

-john-



And who paid for or did these studies that show how much more a real
estate agent gets for properties? Most likely it's the realtors, so I
wouldn't put too much faith in it. The realtor has little interest in
getting a seller top dollar. Which would a realtor rather have? 3%
of a quick sale at $400K or doing a lot more work to get 3% of $420K?

There is no reason many people can't sell a home on their own. I've
done it and had excellent results. For example, I sold a condo in a
complex of 120 units in the tough market of the late 80's and got the
highest price paid as of the date I sold.

It's hard to justify realtors getting 6% of houses that are selling in
the northeast now for $800K. That's $48K. And it doesn't require
anymore work or much more in costs than it did just a few years ago,
when those same houses cost half as much.

I don't know where the figure of 30% of people in the US selling their
own homes came from, butI'm sure it's way high. My guess would be
it's less than 10%, but larger than it was a few years ago. No reason
for someone not to try selling it themselves, provided they have the
right skills. During the hot market of the last several years people
were falling all over themselves to buy homes, so why give a realtor 6%
if you don't have to?








--
================================================== ====================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ====================

wrote:
John A. Weeks III wrote:

In article .com,
wrote:


I live in the United Kingdom and I would be interested to find out more
about how people sell their homes in America. Over here most people
still use real estate agents and often pay £1000's in fees. Is this
the case in the US or are more people selling their own homes without
an agent? I hear that around 30% of people in the US now sell
privately, is this true?

Most homes are still sold either by a developer or builder (for new
homes) and real estate agents for used homes. Some people try to
go FSBO (for sale by owner), but studies have shown that these
people usually sell for about 16% less than what is expected in
a given market. The bottom line is that it is too costly to sell
real estate on your own.

-john-




And who paid for or did these studies that show how much more a real
estate agent gets for properties? Most likely it's the realtors, so I
wouldn't put too much faith in it. The realtor has little interest in
getting a seller top dollar. Which would a realtor rather have? 3%
of a quick sale at $400K or doing a lot more work to get 3% of $420K?


Anecdotely, my sister and her husband tried to sell their townhouse on
their own back in the 80s when the market was pretty hot (just before it
crashed) and they didn't get any buyers. They had priced the townhouse
based on the fact it was FSBO but no takers. So, they gave up and went
with a realtor. Surprisingly (?) it sold quickly for a price HIGHER
than when they were FSBO - they netted a higher amount (after deducting
the commission). Go figure.

There is no reason many people can't sell a home on their own. i 've
done it and had excellent results. For example, I sold a condo in a
complex of 120 units in the tough market of the late 80's and got the
highest price paid as of the date I sold.


Maybe you have experience selling or marketing or maybe it's just
something you do well. But that doesn't mean everyone is able to do it
as well.

admin wrote:

I live in the United Kingdom and I would be interested to find out more
about how people sell their homes in America. Over here most people
still use real estate agents and often pay £1000's in fees. Is this the
case in the US or are more people selling their own homes without an
agent? I hear that around 30% of people in the US now sell privately, is
this true?

I have no idea. But, based on my local house hunting experience and having
an eye out for "For Sale" signs, 30% is way too high. I'd say it is, in my
location (Louisville, Kentucky) and in my very limited experience, perhaps
5%, up to 10% at most.

That said, I also think that 6% of the sale price is way too high for the
services rendered by the agents involved in buying / selling a house.

Further, I place no faith in the often cited studies that single
family homes sell for much less when sold by the owner.

The reason I am interested is that I run an online property website to
allow people to sell their own homes without an agent, I find over here
that people are very resistent to make the change to selling their own
homes, many see it as a risk.

It is. Especially if: you're uneducated, unwilling to learn, below average
research skills, poor attention to detail, not able to see the big
picture, not "net savvy", and you're unwilling to hire your own
professionals (survey, inspector, appraiser, and attorney) to safeguard
your own interest.

Getting an idea of the situation in the US will help me predict the
trend over here in the UK.

Here is an article at the New York Times that you may find interesting.

"The Last Stand of the 6-Percenters?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/03/bu...=1&oref=slogin

Sorry to say, registration is required to read the article.

--
Tony Sivori

OK it seems the 30% was way too high. I'm not sure how much the Realtor
does on the behalf of the seller over in the US but here in the UK the
Estate Agent (as we call them) often place a few ads on a number of
property portals (which apparently drive 70% of their leads) and
install a For Sale Board in the Seller's garden. When the agent finds a
buyer the matter is referred to the lawyers who transact the sale.

There is a big divide here in the UK about selling privately... in fact
most people over here have never even heard of FSBO before. I have used
my company MonkeyMove.com to almost replicate what the agents do but on
a national level and without a shop front. I can place adverts on some
of the most trafficed property portals in the UK and I have negotiated
a deal with a nationwide distributer and fitter of sale boards... I
guess there are companies over there doing the same thing? But I would
be interested to know how complex the work is that the realtor carries
out for US home sellers?

wrote:
OK it seems the 30% was way too high. I'm not sure how much the Realtor
does on the behalf of the seller over in the US but here in the UK the
Estate Agent (as we call them) often place a few ads on a number of
property portals (which apparently drive 70% of their leads) and
install a For Sale Board in the Seller's garden. When the agent finds a
buyer the matter is referred to the lawyers who transact the sale.

There is a big divide here in the UK about selling privately... in fact
most people over here have never even heard of FSBO before. I have used
my company MonkeyMove.com to almost replicate what the agents do but on
a national level and without a shop front. I can place adverts on some
of the most trafficed property portals in the UK and I have negotiated
a deal with a nationwide distributer and fitter of sale boards... I
guess there are companies over there doing the same thing? But I would
be interested to know how complex the work is that the realtor carries
out for US home sellers?


It's probably pretty similar to what happens in the UK. The realtor
looks at comparable recent sales to figure out what the property is
worth and help the seller set a price. Then they market it, which can
include ads in local newspapers, website listings, putting a sign in
the yard, preparing handout sheets for prospects with the property pic
and info, and most importantly placing a listing in the Multiple
Listing Service, which is shared by all real estate brokers. The
agent will likely also host open houses on a few Sundays from 12-3.
Along the way, the agent will give advice to the seller, on things like
fixing obvious defects, sprucing the place up so its more attractive,
etc. The agent then deals with the buyer, serving as the intermediary
during negotiations, etc. They can also help a prospective buyer find
a mortgage, figure out if they are qualified, etc.

wrote:

There is a big divide here in the UK about selling privately... in fact
most people over here have never even heard of FSBO before. I have used
my company MonkeyMove.com to almost replicate what the agents do but on
a national level and without a shop front.

Since you are dealing with a public that is already uncertain about the wisdom
of selling on their own, you might want to consider the effect a company name
has... Your website is great, the reference to Curious George is noted, but you
are up against Halifax and the like....

Since you are dealing with a public that is already uncertain about the wisdom
of selling on their own, you might want to consider the effect a company name
has... Your website is great, the reference to Curious George is noted, but you
are up against Halifax and the like....

It seem people either love the name MonkeyMove.com or hate it. That's
good enough for me, I don't particularly like stuffy or pretentious
names. As long as it sticks in peoples heads for any reason whatsoever
the name has done it's job.

Over here one of our leading insurance companies is called
Elephant.co.uk.