|
Realtors are all a buzz about this new form
of listing houses on the MLS (multiple listing service).
Some feel it creates more work for the buyers agent, while
others see this as a way to tap into the For Sale By Owner
market.
It used to be when you made the decision to
sell your home, you essentially had two methods available to
you. You could list your home with a traditional real
estate company and pay 6-7% commission or you could
try selling on your own "for sale by owner".
Research shows that nearly 50% of all home
sellers start out trying to sell their property on their
own. Although some home owners are successful with FSBO,
according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) home
seller survey, only sixteen percent of sellers actually sell
their home without exposure on the MLS. And many of them end
up giving away their commission savings to the buyer to
close the deal.
Realtors tend avoid for sale by owner
properties because they are working with buyers and have no
written agreement to be compensated. If the seller has not
agreed in writing to pay a commission to the agent, the
buyer could cut the agent right out of the deal and
negotiate directly with the seller. It happens....
With a flat fee MLS service,
the seller has agreed in writing to pay a commission,
usually 3%, to the buyer's agent. This motivates Realtors to
bring the seller a buyer.
How it works:
Real estate commissions by law are
negotiable. In a flat fee listing, the listing
agent agrees to a flat fee instead of a
percentage of the sale price. This can be anywhere from
$300-$600 for the service of adding your house to the MLS.
Then you choose how much to pay the buyer's agent in
commission for bringing you a buyer (typically 3%). So in
the sale of a $200,000 house, you would pay $6,000 plus the
flat listing fee, saving close to $5,700 in
commissions. The plus side is in the listing agent's
contract, the right to continue advertising your house FSBO.
So in the event you find a buyer without an agent you save
on all commissions and only pay the flat listing fee.
- What do you get with flat fee MLS
listing
Advertise your home on Realtor.com®
Market to buyers working with a Realtor® through the
MLS
Market to buyers working without a Realtor®
Retain your right to sell your property by owner
Avoid paying any real estate listing
commission by paying a flat rate or fixed fee
upfront
Only pay a commission if a buyer's agent sells your
home
Why would a listing agent want to do this?
For real estate agents this
can be an opportunity to increase revenue by listing more
homes. There are many people who refuse to use realtors
because of the 6-7% commissions, but are more than willing
to pay 3%. With the increase of internet marketing, realtors
can reach more people because all they are offering is to
list the house on the MLS. Services are minimal and the
listing agent really won't be trying to find a buyer for
you, but rely on the buyer's agents. This allows them to list
properties in a larger area and in some cases in other
states.
With the increase of house prices, is the
6% sales commission going to survive or will flat
fee listings be the wave of the future? Only time
will tell...
|
