FSBO sellers who list on the MLS don’t have to be deceptive
Gutner actually suggests the days-on-the-market data reported by the multiple listing service, or MLS — a computer database of homes for sale run and maintained by Realtors — is deceptively low. She provided several examples of homes Realtors had pulled off the market and then relisted, a tactic that can make a listing appear “hot.”
In Plumstead, for instance, the MLS says homes that were sold in September sat on the market an average of 85 days. But Gutner, after examining every listing, says those properties actually spent an average of 141 days on the market.
The practice of relisting properties on the MLS to make it appear that a home is a new listing is not in itself a new development. Real estate agents have been deceiving the public with such tactics for a long time. FSBO sellers who list their houses for sale on the MLS don’t have to resort to such tactics. By selling the house yourself, you have more room to negotiate a price due to the fact that you are saving yourself from paying commissions. You can actually sell your house the first time you list it rather than price it too high then relist it at a lower price later.
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