Many homeowners are considering selling their homes agent free and save thousands of dollars in fees, but is it really that easy? The biggest reason to sell without an agents help is the age-old burden of commission. Every homeowner thinks right at the moment they decide to sell ‘maybe I could sell it myself and save a lot.’ Commission is one of those fees that are overlooked, and sellers don’t always realise how much they are paying until they are slugged with the bill.
Selling without an agent can actually save you thousands of dollars. He also says that the average commission for a real estate agent is around 2.4 %, so given the average home price in Australia, sellers could save almost $18,000-$20,000! The savings are clearly seen, but is it worth it? Will you get the same sale value? We weigh up the situation in the following paragraphs and help you decide the best way to sell.
Selling without the help of an agent could help save you money, but experts say it might lower the sale price significantly. There are some factors you need to consider before you embark on this endeavour. Without the publicity and platform of an agent, you may be missing out on reaching key customers. Depending on your connections and luck you may not be able to get the price you want without an agent. You need to be a confident and outgoing individual with negotiation skills to be able to carry out a successful sale without an agent. Weigh up whether your lifestyle will let you do everything you need to do, such as hosting openings for inspection and answering buyer questions. If you are not able to do open houses, then it may not work.
Another difficulty you might face is setting a realistic sale price. You need to do plenty of market research and look at other properties in your area to set a goal price that buyers will see are reasonable. Many people do not have a correct idea of the real value of their home. It’s common for people to have a misunderstanding of what a real, fair price is on their house so they might dream of their super profit. If you are prepared to get general market value for your home and you are not greedy about it, then you can sell it yourself. In addition to knowing an accurate price, it is critical to understand the buyer persona of your target audience. For example is your property a budget family home or more of a high-end property?
Private sellers need confidence when selling without an agent. A large proportion of home sellers will always gravitate towards real estate agents because of lack of confidence and be wanting convenience. However these days there is a myriad of online resources and platforms that support private sellers for free. You can create an online real estate listing for a small fee and attract visitors and potential buyers yourself. Those who recognise that online agencies offer a viable, empowering, successful and much cheaper alternative will ensure that they keep many thousands of dollars in their pockets. Everyone and every business exist online these days, and real estate is not an exception.
Some downfalls of selling privately include the lack of resources. Private sellers do not have the marketing resources or business branding image to access all potential buyers active in any given market. It follows that in the event of a successful private sale, there is the chance that a buyer with superior purchasing power was not aware the property was for sale.
Groves insists that the most vital reason to use an agent is the transfer of the vast portion of the risk from the seller to the agent. In case something unfavourable happens, the agent is there for guidance and support and in some cases there to take the blame if a mistake was made on their behalf.
While professional agents seem to give the impression that selling a property is simple, he assures that it isn’t, and the risks of selling privately outweigh the possibility of not paying the selling fee.
Conclusion
Selling a home is not a task fit for everyone. Some people won’t have the time or the patience to deal with this challenging endeavour. It is also possible that if the price on the listing is too low, the potential savings might not be worth the effort of going through the sale without an agent. Whatever the case, consider the savings you can incur when you sell the house on your own. If you know maybe a little bit about real estate or sales, or you can put enough effort to do a great job, you can save a considerable amount when selling your property privately.
