First Home Facts

Why Selling Without An Agent May Not Save You Money

Do you think you can save money by selling your house without a real estate agent? You might, or might not, make substantial savings – it all depends on your unique circumstances. Here are four reasons why bypassing an agent won't automatically save you money: 

Time Investment

Selling a property requires time. Here are just a few examples of some of the tasks involved in the process:

  • Staging the house
  • Researching property prices in the area
  • Listing the property
  • Calculating selling expenses
  • Showing the house
  • Printing advertisements (such as flyers)

All of these take time; the time you would have spent on your main job, side business, on your hobby or with your family. Unless you would have been absolutely free during the sale, you have to account for the value of time spent on doing all the above and more.

Reduced Pool of Buyers

Most people buy properties through agents, and those agents want to deal with other agents so that they can share in the commissions. Those agents won't want to deal with you directly because there is no commission involved. This limits the pool of buyers you can sell to, and a limited market usually translates to lower prices (due to reduced competition, for example). A viable workaround would be to offer commissions to prospective buyers' agents, but it isn't an ideal solution.

Expected Discount from Buyers

When buyers know that you are selling without an agent, they automatically think that you will be making more money on the sale because you won't be paying agency fees. Whether or not you will be making more money, the buyers will expect a discount from you. Passing on the benefits of not paying agency fees to your buyers makes it pointless to forgo agents to make more money.

Inadequate Negotiation Skills

Lastly, your limited negotiation skills may also cost you some money during the sale. Negotiation is both a learned skill, and like other learned skills it gets better with practice. An experienced agent knows what to do or how to talk to the opposing agent or seller to get you a good price.

Therefore, if you have decided to sell your house without a seller's agent, think carefully about your reasons for that decision. If it is to save money, then you might not be on the right path as the above discussions show. A better alternative is to sit down with an agent and strategize on how to maximize your home's value.

To learn more, contact an agency like Almost Home Real Estate Services near you.


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