{"id":14298,"date":"2020-02-27T09:57:05","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T17:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=14298"},"modified":"2026-04-14T07:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T14:20:13","slug":"does-fsbo-really-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/does-fsbo-really-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Does FSBO Really Work? Here\u2019s Why Just 8% of Sellers Think So"},"content":{"rendered":"

With all the online tools today, selling For Sale By Owner<\/a> may seem like a tempting alternative to the traditional real estate agent\/commission fee route. But does FSBO really work?<\/p>\n

First, the stats: In 2019 just 8% of sellers<\/a> chose to sell their home For Sale by Owner, one percentage point higher than the record low<\/a> the previous year.<\/p>\n

FSBO is a serious undertaking: It demands a specific skill set, extensive research, and a great deal of time for no guarantee you\u2019ll sell your home for what you want to. That\u2019s why it\u2019s rare for people to go this route.<\/p>\n

To help you determine if FSBO will work for you, we\u2019ve researched the greatest challenges that stand between sellers and their top sale price so you can see if you have what it takes. For added insight, Bethany Culley<\/a>, a top real estate agent who sells 71% more properties than the average agent in Madison, Mississippi<\/a>, shares her experience as a buyer\u2019s agent working with FSBO sellers.<\/p>\n

To sell your house on your own, here are 10 requirements you must meet for it to work.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Tierra Mallorca \/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

1. You have laser-point precision with your pricing.<\/h2>\n

For FSBO to really work, it\u2019s essential to price your home at or slightly below market value. Listing price is the most influential factor for the speed and sale price your home sells for. Without a real estate agent at your side, you\u2019re on your own for finding the sale price of comparable homes<\/a> (listing prices don\u2019t count!).<\/p>\n

Price too low and you leave money on the table<\/h3>\n

If you play it on the safe side and price your home on the low end of your estimated home value range, then you could miss out on thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Nailing an optimal price point is especially difficult in nondisclosure states<\/a> where transaction sale prices are not available to the public. In these cases, you can only gauge property value through public tax records which can completely miss the mark.<\/p>\n

Culley explains: \u201cIf someone has lived in their house a long, long time and they haven\u2019t gone to an appraiser to update things, because appraisals are expensive, then you\u2019re just going off what they\u2019re being taxed on which is way lower than the market value.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price too high and you\u2019ll hear crickets<\/h3>\n

On the flip-side, if you price your home too high<\/a>, it will sit on the market. HomeLight\u2019s recent Top Agents Insight Report reveals that overpricing is the biggest mistake<\/a> sellers make when selling their home. Buyers reluctant to negotiate down an inflated price may skip over your listing entirely. With little interest, your house will sit on the market until you advertise a price drop.\u00a0 This combination of events can lead buyers to wonder if something is wrong with the property<\/a> beyond bad pricing.<\/p>\n

2. You pay for your own MLS access and keep tabs on activity.<\/h2>\n

Even with an array of For Sale by Owner listing websites<\/a>, the MLS<\/a> is still the king of the listing jungle. In 2019, 9 in 10 sellers listed their homes on the MLS<\/a>, which was the number one source for sellers to list their homes.<\/p>\n

Listing your house on the MLS will auto-syndicate your property details<\/a> to the major online listing sites. As an FSBO seller, you\u2019ll need to pay to access the MLS with one of these options:<\/p>\n