Today’s blog post is the final of our four part series on “Critical Home Selling Mistakes.” The challenges encountered when the “hard sell” is employed, as described in my last post, lead to the last critical mistake of which I write about in detail below.
Attempting to Sell Your Home On Your Own
Frozen Equity:
A qualified buyer is one who is ready, willing and able to purchase your home. Studies have shown that eighty-five percent of those who look at For Sale by Owner properties are just beginning to think about moving and have “frozen equity.” They are often six to nine months away from buying. These future buyers may not want to infringe upon a Realtor’s time until they’re “more serious.” Consequently they look at “By Owner” properties to get a feel for what is available. They have a home to sell before they can or will purchase. It’s not unusual for one to have credit issues that need to be remedied before they can proceed with the purchase of a home.
Another ten percent of those looking at homes that are being sold without the assistance of a Realtor, more often than not, view homes that are at a price point at least slightly above what they can afford. Thus most home sellers who are not using the assistance of a Realtor are actually working with only five percent of high quality buyers that exist in any given price point.
The Percentages
There is more news that make such an endeavor a daunting task. The 2012 Home Buyer and Seller Survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors shows that only 9% of those homes sold last year were sold without the assistance of a Realtor. This is a historic low, and is less than half of the 20% high in 1987. Factoring out the sellers who sold to someone that they already knew, the number adjusts downward to 6%.
Additionally, the median sale price for “By Owner” homes on a national level in 2012 was $174K, almost 20% lower than the $215K of those represented by a Realtor.
Stacked Odds
It’s obvious that selling a home without having to pay a Realtor’s fee is the driving force behind someone attempting to sell on their own. As you can see with the statistics above, however, the odds are stacked against this from happening.
Factoring in the many other nuances involved in the home selling process – lost market time and the legal complications that can arise, it’s no wonder that the path of selling a home without the aid of a Realtor more often than not leads to a very serious and Critical Home Selling Mistake.
What are some of the other disadvantages of attempting to sell a home on your own?
