Flat fee mls listing still remains the most popular alternative to commission based real estate brokerage services. Most home sellers who have utilized a flat-fee mls service are astounded that the service is available at such a relatively low cost, especially compared with the cost of using a traditional broker. Instead of paying a commission of 5-6%, flat-fee MLS listing services can usually be found in the $300-$500 range. That’s a significant savings for most home sellers.
Many sellers opt to use a flat-fee mls listing service on a trial basis to see if they can sell their own homes without paying a listing commission. They reason that at the $300-500 price point, why not give it a try for a few weeks, as opposed to using other more conventional methods of real estate advertising such as classifieds and online “for sale by owner” websites. Unfortunately most FSBO sellers, unfamiliar with the home selling process, tend to panic after a few weeks of being on the market. They worry what the neighbors might think about their house not selling, or that their somehow just not “doing it right” and end up handing over the listing to a full-service, full-commission real estate broker (who most often beats them up about lowering the price until the house finally sells).
However the sellers who are most often successful using flat-fee mls listing services are the ones who stick it out for up to 6 months or more. Considering that even traditional real estate agents often take many months to sell a property, these savvy sellers know that it pays to have the confidence to hang in there and wait for the right buyer to come along. Of course, pricing the home correctly is an important consideration in either case. But with the low cost of flat fee mls you have the luxury of being able to be more competitive with your pricing since you’re not having to give up so much of your equity to real estate commissions.
Especially in today’s real estate market, flat-fee mls can be the tool that helps you sell your home or property – if you have the patience and confidence it takes.
