FSBO Millionaires Use Real Estate Agents

Do as I Say… not as I Do

This adage could be no truer today after it has been reported, in a recent Herald Tribune article, that when it came to selling his Florida mansion, Al Bennati, the longtime chief executive of BuyOwner.com, has chosen to list his home with a local real estate agent.

BuyOwner.com is one of many websites out there now that encourage home owners that they do not need to enlist the help of a professional agent to be able to sell their home. They go as far as to tell homeowners:

“BuyOwner.com allows you to reach the most potential buyers in the shortest amount of time, in the most effective (the Internet) and most cost effective manner (no commission!) possible.”

Let’s break down that statement:

Myth #1 – The internet is the most effective way to sell your home
Many have said that, with the introduction of home search on the internet, hiring an agent is no longer a necessity. When the time came to list his own home, Bennati went against his own advice saying:

“To sell a home of this magnitude, it needs to be done by a person and a company that reaches buyers of this caliber.”

Myth #2 – FSBO’ing is the most cost effective solution
Without proper exposure to the “right kind of buyers” your home will not sell. Many real estate professionals have elaborate strategies to get your listing in front of exactly who needs to see it.

The most recent Home Sellers’ and Buyers’ Profile Report from the National Association of Realtors revealed that, though 92% of buyers search for a home on the internet, 90% still use a real estate professional.

This isn’t the first time that a CEO of a major FSBO website has enlisted the help of an agent when the time came to sell their own home. In August of 2011 we reported on Colby Sambrotto of forsalebyowner.com who, after failing to sell his home using FSBO websites, needed an agent to sell his NYC apartment.

And, he got more money!!!!

Bottom Line
Two separate people made fortunes convincing others to sell their home through their FSBO sites. Yet, when it came to selling their own home, they recognized the value of using a real estate professional.

There is a reason the real estate industry has been around for centuries: it performs a valuable service.

~KCM Blog

3 Reasons to Sell Your Home this Spring

Many sellers are still hesitant about putting their house up for sale. Where are prices headed? Where are interest rates headed? These are all valid questions. However, there are several reasons to sell your home sooner rather than later. Here are three of those reasons.

1. Demand is about to skyrocket

Most people realize that the housing market is hottest from April through June. The most serious buyers are well aware of this and, for that reason, come out in early spring in order to beat the heavy competition. We also have a pent-up demand as many buyers pushed off their home search this winter because of extreme weather. Sellers in markets where seasonal weather is never an issue must realize that buyers relocating to their region will increase dramatically this spring as these purchasers finally decide to escape the freezing temperatures of the winters in the north.

These buyers are ready, willing and able to buy…and are in the market right now!

2. There Is Less Competition – For Now

Housing supply always grows from the spring through the early summer. Also, there has been a growing desire for many homeowners to move as they were unable to sell over the last few years because of a negative equity situation. Homeowners have seen a return to positive equity as prices increased over the last eighteen months. Many of these homes will be coming to the market in the near future.

The choices buyers have will continue to increase over the next few months. Don’t wait until all the other potential sellers in your market put their homes up for sale.

3. There Will Never Be a Better Time to Move-Up

If you are moving up to a larger, more expensive home, consider doing it now. Prices are projected to appreciate by approximately 4% this year and 8% by the end of 2015. If you are moving to a higher priced home, it will wind-up costing you more in raw dollars (both in down payment and mortgage payment) if you wait. You can also lock-in your 30 year housing expense with an interest rate at about 4.5% right now. Freddie Mac projects rates to be 5.1% by this time next year and 5.7% by the fourth quarter of 2015.

Moving up to a new home will be less expensive this spring than later this year or next year.

2014 Real Estate Market Update: Seattle Eastside Area

I thought I’d give a quick video real estate market update for Seattle’s Eastside area:

 

http://youtu.be/ETNlSKAN9Hk

Home Prices Up 12.9% from Last Year: Case-Shiller

 In recent housing news, the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index tracked a 0.8 percent rise in February based on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is slightly better than the predictions of national economists. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a 0.7 percent rise.

Nationwide home prices were up 12.9 percent on a year-over-year basis, and while the numbers—released on Tuesday– seem to indicate a healing market, the U.S. home prices were actually nearly unchanged in February, after slumping 0.1 percent in each month since November, according to the 20-city composite index. The 12.9 percent year-over-year February basis, while seemingly positive, actually shows that price growth is slowing down.

Numbers were down from 13.2 percent in January, and fell even further from the peak of 13.7 percent in November. Additionally, the percentage lands just a smidge shy of the predicted year-over-year basis, which had weighed in at an expected 13 percent.

“Despite continued price gains, most other housing statistics are weak,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, who cited new and existing home sales data. “The recovery in housing starts, now less than one million units at annual rates, is faltering. Moreover, home prices nationally have not made it back to 2005.”

Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries, commented, “Like pending homes sales numbers yesterday, the Case-Shiller numbers today are generally pretty positive. Behind the flat unadjusted monthly change is a large seasonally adjusted change in home prices. It’s good to have some positive signs amidst some of the sluggish news of late,” “The housing market is showing signs of slowing, but this was expected and is part of a broader return to normal as appreciation slows down,mortgage rates inch up and more balance between buyers and sellers emerges.

Homeownership still represents a good bargain for those that can afford it and can find a suitable home. But affordability issues are becoming an issue in a few markets, and those problems will only get worse as mortgage interest rates rise.”

Pending Sales Change Course

In other real estate news released this week, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, increased 3.4 percent in March to 97.4 from an upwardly revised February level of 94.2. The PHSI monthly increase reported by the National Association of REALTORS® was the first since June of 2013, although it remains 7.9 percent below the level of 105.7 last March.

The March PHSI increased in the West, South and Northeast by 5.7 percent, 5.6 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, but fell slightly in the Midwest. Year-over-year, all of the regions were down, ranging from decreases of 11.1 percent and 10.1 percent in the West and Midwest to decreases of 5.9 percent and 5.3 percent in the Northeast and South.

Last week, Census reported a 14.5 percent decrease in March new home sales. Extreme weather was a factor in decreased new and existing home sales at the beginning of the year. The March increase in the PHSI suggests that the existing home market will move forward throughout the spring. The growth in household formations and strong pent-up demand will maintain that momentum throughout this year.

~RIS Media