| |
| |
|
|
Real Estate |
|
Flat Fee MLS Listings - Is This The Future Of Real Estate
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 use 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 buy 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 flat fee MLS service, the seller has agreed in writing to pay a commission, usually 3%, to the buyers 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 buyers 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 a close to $5,700 in commissions. The plus side is in the listing agents contract, the right to continue advertising you 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.
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 buyers 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... About The Author Richard Massey is a note broker with United Financial Resources and a real estate investor. You can get more information at http://www.unitedfinancialresources.com or to read more articles go to http://unitedfinancialresources.com/news.html
MORE RESOURCES:
Real-Estate - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Sell Your House by Lease Options Many people buy a house then have to move within a few years, due to divorce, relocation or financial difficulties. Without any equity though, it can be nearly impossible to find buyers and you still have realtor fees to contend with. How to Get Started in the Real Estate Game Fixing and Flipping Houses If you're looking to get started investing in real estate by fixing and flipping houses, you'll want to know what to type of property to buy. Many real estate investors make millions turning ugly houses into dollhouses. Branded Email in the Real Estate Industry Branded Email in the Real Estate IndustryYou're in the real estate industry, and that means you've got a brand. Chances are, you've spent quite a bit of money to build that brand, whether it's through franchising fees, marketing, websites, business cards, other print materials, advertising, yard signs, and/or through other means. Selling Your House - $100,000 Pets Is your pet worth $100,000? It may be if you don't make accommodations for it when selling your home.A Hundred Thousand Dollar Pet?A house I'd seen with a potential buyer in an attractive neighborhood built around two lakes sold for $100,000 less than was typical for the neighborhood. Coming to Las Vegas - the Las Vegas Real Estate Boom Nobody seems to be 'Leaving Las Vegas' anymore - in fact just the opposite is true. Just as in the time of the rush Las Vegas real estate has been drawing the attention of investors and new citizens alike. Real Estate Investment - One Simple Formula I saw the ads in our small-town newspaper for years before I realized exactly what was going on. They were always the same: A house for sale with 5% down and payments of 1% of the purchase price. Why Invest In Property? Why property, some people ask when looking for an investment. Well, as far as I am concerned, property investment is, and always has been, the most powerful type of investment for building wealth. How To Get More Money For Your House If you are thinking about selling your house, you should take a serious look at your home through objective eyes. You're probably used to all the little quirky things that need a bit of fixing up and don't look quite right, but to a prospective buyer, these things can be a real turn off. When Showing Your Home Here below are some of the reasons why buyers may be put off when visiting your home.1. Sell Your Home Without Paying Any Commissions All of us know that real estate commissions can work out to quite a bit of money - anything from a few thousand dollars with discount brokers to 6% in commissions with full-service agents. That's a substantial sum of money to be paying for something you could very well do on your own. Good Faith Deposit - Real Estate Transactions In a real estate transaction, a touchy issue is how much trust the seller has in a buyer. The existence of a good faith deposit helps put a seller at rest. Walnut Creek Real Estate Looking to relocate to a Californian suburb with a low crime rate, beautiful luxury homes and the convenience of being located just minutes from Oakland and San Francisco? Look no further than Walnut Creek. This city of just over 65,000 people is staying relatively stable in population, but new luxury homes are being constructed in this northern suburb all the time, and there are countless options. Old House? New House? Weighing Your Options Maybe it has something to do with a childhood home we fondly remember. Many of us long for old homes built with solid construction, quality craftsmanship and beautiful details. Dealing With Difficult Tenants When managing residential properties one bad tenant can often undo the good work that one hundred excellent ones may have achieved. A bad tenant is a bad tenant regardless of whether they are in the West Riding, Western Australia, Westchester, Wanganui or the Western Isles. Real Estate: Buyers Agent, Sellers Agent & Dual Agent (defined and explained) There is a relatively new and not always well understood practice in Real Estate sales; it is called Buyer Agency or Buyer's Agent. Until recently Realtors and agents usually represented the seller, in opposition to the buyer, during the real estate transaction. Selling Your Own Home: 10 More Tips Selling your own home can be a time-consuming and frustrating process. Sometimes, though, in the right market, it makes sense to save thousands of dollars in commission and do it yourself. Buying and Selling Real Estate in Florida Florida is known as the "Sun Shine" state, and the reason is clear. People move to Florida for many reasons, but most that move there stay there. Dubai or not to Buy? A Short Assessment of the Dubai Property Market Never has there been such an ambitious and creative drive to establish a property market as has been witnessed in Dubai over the past three years. Running short on oil reserves, Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed Al Marktoum, set out to turn Dubai into the financial, commercial and tourism capital of the Middle East and in the space of three years he has more than succeeded. Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble? We are selling our house. We have lived here for 15 years, the longest I have ever lived anywhere; of the places since I left my parents' home I think my previous best was three years. Dramatic Profits From Preconstruction Real Estate Investing The preconstruction process is an innovative real estate investment opportunity in which you buy tomorrow's property at today's price. Preconstruction investing is a boon for the investor or buyer as well as the developer or builder.
|
|||||||||||||||
