According to the National Association of REALTORS' (NAR) Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, approximately 90% of all sellers listed their home for sale with a licensed real estate professional. In fact, the percentage of homeowners that use a REALTOR to market and sell their home has increased dramatically over the past decade. So despite the fact that less people are daring to market their home as a "For Sale By Owner" or "FSBO" with each passing year, many real estate agents still have difficulty explaining why homeowners should use a REALTOR.
I sat down with three top producing agents that have made prospecting for FSBO listings a part of their regular business generation activities. In the following video these agents unveil their strategies and scripts for communicating the value that a REALTOR brings to a homeowner attempting to market and sell a home.
Brian Icenhower and top realtors Karen Hadley, Brad Baldwin
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
According to NAR, 89% of home buyers utilized a real estate agent's services to locate and purchase a home. Accordingly, it would make sense for a home seller to have his or her home listed for sale by a REALTOR in a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) where most agents search for property to show to their clients. Moreover, because MLS listings are frequently syndicated to a multitude of other real estate sites like Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia, sellers that use a real estate agent can dramatically increase the exposure of their home to a much wider market.
According to NAR, 89% of home buyers utilized a real estate agent's services to locate and purchase a home. Accordingly, it would make sense for a home seller to have his or her home listed for sale by a REALTOR in a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) where most agents search for property to show to their clients. Moreover, because MLS listings are frequently syndicated to a multitude of other real estate sites like Zillow, Realtor.com and Trulia, sellers that use a real estate agent can dramatically increase the exposure of their home to a much wider market.
Online Exposure
The graphic above illustrates that 90% of home buyers now use the internet to search for homes. The gradual decline of print advertising in newspapers and magazines has only served to heighten the importance of hiring a real estate professional to properly market a home online. Even when FSBO sellers attempt to market their own properties on the internet, they don't have the same lead capture and follow-up capabilities that real estate agents' websites have to rapidly convert a lead into a buyer. Website visitors typically only stay on a site for 20 or 30 seconds. So without out a system for immediately contacting and following up with site visitors, the leads will typically be lost.
The graphic above illustrates that 90% of home buyers now use the internet to search for homes. The gradual decline of print advertising in newspapers and magazines has only served to heighten the importance of hiring a real estate professional to properly market a home online. Even when FSBO sellers attempt to market their own properties on the internet, they don't have the same lead capture and follow-up capabilities that real estate agents' websites have to rapidly convert a lead into a buyer. Website visitors typically only stay on a site for 20 or 30 seconds. So without out a system for immediately contacting and following up with site visitors, the leads will typically be lost.
FSBO Sellers Pay a Commission Anyway
NAR's Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers also found that FSBO homes sell for an average of 11% less than homes listed with a REALTOR. This is often because buyers are aware that FSBO sellers are saving on commissions and are able to use this as a basis for negotiating a lower purchase price.
Showing Availability, Privacy & Safety
REALTORS show properties 7 days a week and utilize lockboxes to show property at any time. Further, buyers represented by agents will spend more time in houses without owners present. Buyers can then openly express their feelings without fear of offending owners or concern that their comments may effect negotiations. Finally, there are obvious safety concerns for both sellers and buyers that connect online.
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