Doesn’t make a difference who you hire to sell your home? Aren’t all real estate agents the same? In this competitive seller’s market should you hire a discount broker to save you money when you sell your home? Well let’s take a look at the statistics and really find out the answers to your questions.
Hi I’m Karie Hall with Homes by Karie and eXp Realty. Some people say that real estate agents are a commodity and in a lot of cases, that could be a very true statement. So I can appreciate why homeowners would actually think that. Do you know that it’s actually pretty easy to get your real estate license? To compare… If you’re thinking about getting your cosmetology license in the US most schools require between 1000 to 2000 hours of training. And yet in California it only takes 135 hours of pre-licensing training to get your real estate license. So yes, many agents do lack the experience, the training and the education. But, what does the research say?
Does it make a difference who you actually choose to sell your home? Or can you do it yourself? Well according to the National Association of Realtors, for sale by owners typically sold for 18% less than a home listed with a realtor!! meaning the typical For Sale by Owner home sold for $260,000 compared to $318,000 when an agent was involved in the sale. That means by trying to do it yourself to save some money, you could be doing way more work and losing a lot of money… Almost $60,000 less… OK, well is it worth it to hire a discount broker? Some discount brokers are able to keep their rates low by skipping out on activities that are proven to sell your home faster and for a higher sales price… For example, some services that may be excluded like home staging, personalize marketing materials, digital marketing campaigns customized to find buyers for your home and expose your home to the masses, slower response times or even a fully automated experience so you hardly ever speak to a real live agent.
So you should always ask if there are any trade-offs in exchange for their lower commission. You could be responsible for handling pieces of your homes real estate transaction that normally, agents like myself will handle. How do discount brokers get paid? Research from Nerdwallet explains when comparing your options, be aware that if you go with a low commission listing agent, you may also be responsible for the buyers agent fee. For example, one of the most recognizable names in discount brokerages offers a 1.5% listing fee for sellers BUT it doesn’t include the buyers agent fee which often is around 2 1/2 to 3% so that actually means you would pay closer to 4 to 4 1/2% of your home sales price in total commissions.
Is it worth it saving a little bit of commission, and still losing money at the end of the transaction? Or only saving 1.5% of the commission and taking On ALL of the stress, intricate details, paperwork and time needed to sell your home properly? Here’s the big take away… It’s costing you a significant amount of money by not hiring an agent who has the experience, or the education, or one who specializes in digital marketing, exposure and innovation leveraging technology when selling your home. So do me a favor, give me a call if you’re thinking about selling or just looking for some perspective or advice… I’m always here to help. I’m Karie Hall with Homes by Karie and eXp Realty thanks again for watching and have a great day