When this first came out I read that up to 50% of the current agents will most likely get out of the business. I realize that 10% is also up to 50% so it's kind of meaningless but that is what was in print.

The "listing service" I used in 2017 to sell my house in NC was a very well put-together listing by me on Zillow (which populates overnight onto Trulia, owned by Zillow).

Those two internet spots produced phone calls from agents and interested solo buyers. I got 3 offers in 3 days and took the one from the solo buyer. It closed just fine with zero $ paid to any agents. Never even put a sign in the yard.

I will be doing the exact same thing in the next 2 months and am hoping for similar results. Although, I will pay an agent who brings me a buyer 2.5 % for a closed deal.

Btw, it only works that well in a low supply / high demand market or location. When conditions are the reverse, you need all the help and exposure you can get. I'm familiar with that too - having had a fully-listed house on the market for 5 months in 2008. Simply brutal!

Make certain your pictures show your home in the most appealing way. We noticed a home that was sitting for months. We were interested in that area and requested a showing. The online pictures did not do justice for the beautiful home. One sad picture of the LARGE glass enclosed lanai and the description of the home did not mention a remodel.

We gave a well below ask offer. With very little negotiation, our offer was accepted. We feel blessed! The heirs were happy to finally rid themselves of the home. I believe better pictures and description would have brought in higher offers. The listing agent may have been inexperienced or did not want to pay a professional photographer. Maybe, he believed the location alone would sell the home. Definitely dropped the ball on this property.

You still have to pay the title company about 1500 bucks to do all the paperwork. But yes, you save a bundle. I wouldn’t even use an agent. It’s free to try it yourself. If it doesn’t sell in a couple weeks, then bring someone in? Anyone can list on Zillow if you own a cell phone.

Affiliated Title Wildwood 352-492-0564
Freedom Title Lady Lake 352-633-5195
Advantage Title The Villages 352-430-1328

All will give you any documents you may need for offers, disclosure and sale. Complete them and turn them in.

Zillow couldn't survive without using the MLS system for comps, which wouldn't be possible without the hard work of Realtors.

Trust me, sales and marketing are my thing as my FSBO sale in 2017 would attest. I can put up a better listing than half of the agents out there. Because I think like the buyer would, what they want to see and know - that's the key.

I have noticed that there are interesting 'pockets' of opportunity in TV. Like you experienced...an estate sale situation of heirs just wanting to liquidate and not being especially price-sensitive, listings by less-experienced agents (with dialed-out owners) that don't present the property well or are very over-priced resulting in little traffic so, any offer that comes is ripe for getting a good buy, etc. Smart of you to see past the poor listing and find the gem.

All realtors had to list on mls now that doesn’t mean people don’t have side buyers. Selling a home is not so easy to many. Valuations alone are not that easy as well Zillow is always wrong !

Agree
 

Yes, a seller should consult with several listings in the area and comps from their neighborhood. That will give them a much better idea on home sale value. This is particularly easy in The Villages where so many homes are similar. They should/would glean much more from a sale without a realtor too.

I disagree. I find it quite easy to find the value of my property. I go on to trulia and type in sq footage. Then I search the SOLD homes in the Villages the last few months. Find a few similar to mine. Write down the address and price the homes sold for and these are my comps.

I then go onto VLS. Type in my model name. Look at the homes most similar to mine. Write down the address and asking price. Voila! I now have more comps.

I go on the county tax site. Look at the accessed value of my home. Add 25-30% more. I now have what the county believes my house is worth.

Compare all my data and set an ask price accordingly. If a buyer insists I am overpriced, show the recently sold similar homes to him/her. Not much room for argument when they see this information.

Totally True
 

This is yet another way to find out your home value. Getting a realtor involved only jacks up your sale price and makes you less likely to sell and way less competitive.
I would rather buy a home for 400,000 than 424,000. Who wouldn’t?

Realtors work for free so many times like this to give advice for sellers to price their home.

Exactly!

As house prices climb, a realtor’s responsibilities do not change. The percentage based commission is totally unfair. Looks like the cat has been belled. It’s about time.

It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out.

Boomer

You don't really believe that homes for sale by owner are priced lower than those with an agent. If the market will bring in $424,00 the seller would be a fool to ask $400,000. You gain nothing by buying from an individual owner however the owner gains a lot.

A bit like oil prices.
Never known an oil company to undercut the world market price to lower their profit margin.

Better yet, skip the realtor, charge 415,000 and pocket the extra 15k that would have gone to the realtor. The house undercuts the fools that hired realtors and sells quicker.

From Comment #93
If the market will bring in $424,00 the seller would be a fool to ask $400,000. Agreed. So, a seller should ask market price and be expecting to negotiate down from there. Both sides of the trade are going to tug to capture that commission margin. Compromise and it'll work.

You gain nothing by buying from an individual owner however the owner gains a lot. This is not true. With the seller not having to pay one or more agents, there is much more negotiating room. I have experienced this more than once on both buy and sell side. It also means that you know, whichever side you're on, what is being communicated to the other person because you are the one speaking for yourself.

From comment #95
The house undercuts the fools that hired realtors... --This is an unfair and inaccurate statement. Almost nothing is equal in real estate transactions including the particulars of the owners or buyers. I like to operate on my own when buying/selling RE but, it is not always possible. In 2017, I bought a house two states away from where I was living and there was no way I could have managed all the details w/o a local buy-side agent. TV has estate liquidation sales where the heirs don't even live in FL - so how are they supposed to do that w/o representation? I could list myriad other circumstance where using an agent, on either side, makes sense.

It's nonsensical and inappropriate to disparage other people for operating within their specific needs or circumstances.