Freezing in NH

There’s an interesting article in the NYTimes today about FSBO (for sale by owner) vs agent real estate transactions.  The results (using data from 98 to 2004) are that in Madison, Wisconson it makes financial sense to do it FSBO. Prices are similar (though FSBO are on the market a little longer) and that 6% commission eats into your profit if you’re getting the same price.

Caveats include the longer time on market as well as the fact that Madison has a very popular FSBO site, which helps drive potential buyers. Though I think that today (vs 1998) people are more willing to look at things like Craigs List when looking for a home. So that’s a point for FSBO. And many places have a service for about $400 or so that lets you put your personal home on the MLS, which is one of the big advantages of going with an agent.

The potential downside is that you might have a buyer’s agent backlash (even if you’re willing to pay them their half of the 6%) where they want to stand together as realtors and not show your house. But if you’ve got the time and energy, it’s worth a try.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 4:23 pm and is filed under articles, real estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.