{"id":2600,"date":"2017-07-03T11:17:36","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T18:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2025-09-17T08:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:52:00","slug":"for-sale-by-owner-sales-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/for-sale-by-owner-sales-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Read the Reasons Why For Sale By Owner Home Sales Fail Before Going FSBO"},"content":{"rendered":"

When gearing up to sell your home, there could be a number of reasons you might be tempted to take on a For Sale By Owner<\/a> sale. Maybe you\u2019d like to avoid losing profit to a real estate agent, and you\u2019re hesitant to involve another party in selling your property. Perhaps you think that you know your local market \u2014 and your own house \u2014 better than anyone else. You might question what a real estate agent could bring to the table that you haven\u2019t already accounted for, especially when all the information you need is already online.<\/p>\n

Even though roughly 70% of people start out with a FSBO, it\u2019s a fact that FSBO sales aren\u2019t usually successful. In fact, according to the National Association of Realtors Real Estate Statistics released in 2015, FSBOs only accounted for a scanty 8% of total home sales. That same year, the NAR reported that the average For Sale By Owner sales price was $185,000, while the average price for an agent-represented home was $240,000 \u2014 a staggering difference of $55,000.<\/p>\n

What could be the reasons for such a drastic discrepancy between homes sold as FSBOs and ones represented by an agent?<\/p>\n

\"St.<\/a>
Real estate agents are trained experts in the local market, like Jody Parrish, a top agent in St. Louis. Source: (Joshua Ness\/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Where the Real Estate Agent Fits In<\/h2>\n

According to Jody Parrish, an agent with Coldwell Banker Gundaker in Missouri who ranks in the top 2% of sellers\u2019 agents in St. Louis<\/a>, an agent\u2019s \u201cmost important role is to help the seller understand the market and what the process is.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, top real estate agents have much greater access to local market trends and data that For Sale By Owner sellers don\u2019t. They\u2019re able to assess the market, equity of the home, and price the home as effectively as possible in the local landscape \u2014 steps of the FSBO process that can prove extremely difficult for home sellers without an agent\u2019s knowledge and aid.<\/p>\n

As an example, Parrish referenced the local St. Louis market \u2014 which recently slowed after the initial spring frenzy of home sales \u2014 as she expressed that she and other agents are now able to inform sellers that \u201cthere\u2019s a little bit of a slowdown; don\u2019t expect five offers the day we put your house on.\u201d Rather than carrying on blind like most FSBOs, agents can \u201ceducate [sellers] about the process, using that to help them make good decisions about pricing and strategies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>
Source: (Alex Tan \/ Death to the Stock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Preparing the House<\/h2>\n

Before actually listing the house on the MLS, agents can enormously aid homeowners in preparing the house to be shown \u2014 staging the home to be more appealing to potential buyers, finding a professional real estate photographer, and writing an appealing description that highlights the home\u2019s most enticing attributes. While these steps may feel daunting for an inexperienced seller, it\u2019s a process Parrish and other real estate agents know like the back of their hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really do a full marketing strategy,\u201d Parrish detailed. \u201cWe have a stager come to the house for an hour. Move the furniture around, take out some of the pieces that might be offensive to some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parrish recounted one particularly poignant experience she had with a seller in Missouri who struggled to sell her home for years \u2014 until she listed it with Parrish. Once the agent and her team stepped in, they had the house under contract in about a week despite leaving the list price unchanged \u2014 receiving multiple offers in just the span of a week and a half.<\/p>\n

\u201c[She was an] older lady, who tried to sell it herself. She had been on the market for months. I met with her, [and] we really hit it off. But we\u2019re a full-service brokerage, and she decided to list it with a discount broker for a one-year listing,\u201d Parrish described. \u201cAfter it expired \u2014 so now she\u2019s been trying to sell her house for years, literally \u2014 she listed it with us\u2026[She was a] fun, wacky old hippie. There were some things in her house that might need to be removed. We brought in stager, took professional photographs, marketed the heck out of it, and had her prepared to list it for the first time in years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sold it in about three weeks,\u201d Parrish said.<\/p>\n

Although this kind of scenario isn\u2019t necessarily uncommon, this seller\u2019s story is especially moving for Parrish, as the seller later revealed that she had Parkinson\u2019s Disease and was trying to sell her home before her condition worsened \u2014 a process Parrish helped her accomplish in less than a month, even though she\u2019d spent years trying to accomplish it alone.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>
Source: (Matthew Addington \/ Death to the Stock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Getting the Best Deal<\/h2>\n

Working the tedious For Sale By Owner process, it\u2019s likely that the home seller won\u2019t know all the tricks of the trade experienced real estate agents have spent decades learning. Parrish \u2014 who\u2019s now spent 18 years in real estate \u2014 and other top agents have already mastered how to market a home, coordinate with all parties involved, and orchestrate an effective and desirable closing sale.<\/p>\n

In another FSBO experience, Parrish described a situation in which a seller ran into a serious financial problem when closing the offer. Yet through her team\u2019s dynamic and creative thinking, Parrish depicted how her team stepped in to find a solution for the seller, making it possible for the seller to actually close a deal on the house where it would have otherwise been impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a disaster,\u201d Parrish said as she opened the story. \u201cShe was in a rural area, and they were on a road with a road club. Her house was worth about $100k. She found a buyer, but they were trying to close it, and she found that she owed about $25k in back assessments on a road club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although an ordinary FSBO seller might have just given up, Parrish explained how the seller came to her for help. With some digging, she and her team actually found that the road club was illegal \u2014 in violation of a number of codes \u2014 and they could waive the seller\u2019s dues.<\/p>\n

Why For Sale By Owner Sales Fail<\/h2>\n

While it may be tempting to lean towards a FSBO sale in our Internet age, it\u2019s clear that a top real estate agent\u2019s prowess is unparalleled when compared to those of a typical FSBO seller.<\/p>\n

From the get-go, realtors possess market data to better price the home in the local market and are able to better coordinate between potential buyers, necessary inspectors, or lawyers. And, as evidenced by Parrish\u2019s experiences, they have access to much larger networks, have worked substantially in contract negotiations, and have far more experience staging a home for potential buyers.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s no doubt that you know your home better than anyone else, it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll be the best at selling it.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by how appealing a FSBO may seem at first glance. You never know just how much you might regret that choice later on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though roughly 70% of people start out with a FSBO, it\u2019s a fact that For Sale By Owner sales aren\u2019t usually successful. Here’s why you need an agent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":8504,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[238],"tags":[491,586,248],"class_list":["post-2600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-working-with-agents","tag-basics","tag-commissions","tag-for-sale-by-owner"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy For Sale By Owner Home Sales Fail<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Even though roughly 70% of people start out with a FSBO, it\u2019s a fact that For Sale By Owner sales aren\u2019t usually successful. 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