Gig Harbor Homes "For Sale by Owner": Why an Agent Is Better
Many people plan to buy or sell a house in Gig Harbor soon, partly to take advantage of the rising real estate prices, with the average home sitting at over $900k. So, it’s never been better to get involved.
Yet we’ve noticed that many people consider selling independently, despite the increased challenge.
Selling Gig Harbor homes “for sale by owner” (FSBO) is often tempting because it offers the freedom to set your own price and dodge commission. However, this can easily lead to reduced profits.
Schulte & Co can instead help get you the best results, so why not work with us to make your next sale easier, with access to:
Sales networks
Legal experts
Contractor and home preparation services
Decades of experience
Read on to learn why selling solo, while tempting, might not get you what you’re looking for.
What Are Homes “for Sale by Owner” (FSBO)
FSBO is when an owner lists a home without an agent to assist with many parts of the sale, including:
Pricing
Showings
Offers
Disclosures
Negotiations
Marketing and market ready preparation
Many other aspects of the process
Instead of an agent’s listing site, they often use flat-fee locations or online listing services to reach buyers without paying an agent commission.
This process can often lead to more up-front sales, which is what some home sellers want to pursue. It can also offer many a strong feeling of control when undergoing such a significant trade.
However, many sellers do not understand Washington state laws on disclosure, where sellers must always inform the buyer of all potential home defects and legal filings. These could leave sellers liable if they don’t understand precisely what they must list.
For example, some of the disclosures that people most commonly miss include:
Roof leaks
Water intrusion
Wood-destroying pest infestations
Boundary disputes
Unpermitted renovations
For this reason, many sellers might need to hire a real estate attorney, which can quickly lead to costs that make the process much less fruitful.
Do FSBO Homes Sell Quickly?
The National Association of Realtors recently conducted research to discover why people sell as FSBO and whether those expectations match reality. Their results can be summarized as:
Most people who sell FSBO do so to make the sale faster
Homes sold with an agent sold in half the time as those without
Over half of agent-sold homes sold within a month of listing
FSBO sales were twice as likely to take at least three months
Not Only Time… But Money Too
When listing FSBO homes, the seller often has a plan and reason for selling. Based on this, they can set their price based on their personal goals, whereas when working with an agent, they may have to rely on the agent’s insights instead. For several reasons, an individual may want to ensure that their sales goals are met and, as such, have a higher or lower price in mind.
However, it can often be too easy to quickly turn a “slightly lower sale price” into a distinctly lowball amount, causing the seller to miss out, even if there are benefits to the listing quickly moving through the sales process.
At the other end of the scale, a real estate agent like Schulte & Co. will have a greater insight into balancing high prices with realistic sales. If someone wants to press a specific feature they believe would cause the home to sell for more, a good agent should respect that. They will also often have a greater understanding of how much such a feature will add to a listing and can help you set your expectations more easily.
In addition to their report on the time taken per sale, NAR found that selling with an agent netted a far greater profit in general. These results would have been due to things like:
Negotiation skill
Number of mistakes made
Understanding of the costs involved
Access to sales networks
For these reasons and more, sales by an agent lent themselves to an average of around $55,000 greater profits. That difference was even more pronounced when selling to an acquaintance, with those FSBOs hitting almost $100,000 in lost opportunity.
Local Factors with Gig Harbor Homes for Sale by Owner
Sellers might want to adjust their sale price ad hoc or offer concessions and incentives to make a deal more appealing. While this can be beneficial, each extra thing you do will eat into your time and profits, making it less worth your time.
At the same time, many FSBO sellers find that their listings don’t get enough traction and may decide to commission a listing agent to widen their pool of buyers anyway. Real estate agents have systems to track local listings in Gig Harbor and its surrounding area more easily, which can sound helpful, but quickly ends up with the seller paying what they would have in the first place with a fully invested agent.
They also have real-time data on buyer preferences, which homes go for more and why, and what you might want to add to a listing to really make it “pop” in a specific area. They will have connections among:
Remote work buyers
Military sector relocators
Tech industry HR departments
Other real estate experts
In a picturesque location like Gig Harbor, agents know exactly what to do to make a sale and can help you avoid many of the challenges above. So, why not trust them from the start?
Enjoy a Better Chance at Success with Paige Schulte
While selling Gig Harbor homes “for sale by owner” offers more control, many myths exist about its effectiveness compared to using an agent. Instead, an agent-assisted sale is much more likely to help you achieve higher returns, with far less difficulty.
Schulte & Co. can help you get the best price for your home. With our unique concierge service, we can tailor our strategies around your needs and the specific nature of your home’s neighborhood, getting you a great deal. So, get in touch to learn more and avoid missing out today.
