Are you thinking about selling your home, but don’t want to pay an expensive commission to a real estate agent?
It’s true that real estate commissions can seem costly!
I’m going to share 3 of my favorite strategies I use to sell homes here in Colorado Springs. These are not just “ideas.” I personally use all of these marketing tactics in my real estate business, and they are proven to work!
First, let’s go over some statistics you should be aware of.
It usually costs a 6% sales commission to sell a home. This means selling a $250,000 home requires about $15,000 in agent commissions, so the seller would receive about $235,000 when all is said and done. Obviously, that’s a lot of money!
If you think you have the marketing skills to promote and sell your own home, it might make sense to sell it without a real estate agent.
Especially in a hot real estate market like Colorado Springs!
There are certainly marketing expenses involved in selling a home, but if you’re willing to invest some money into promotion and advertising, listing your home as a For Sale By Owner could save you some money.
However, before we discuss the marketing details, let me be clear: numerous studies show that your home will sell for 10% less without an agent. In other words, working with an agent actually makes you money, because they will usually be able to negotiate a higher sales price.
Buyers usually make lowball offers on For Sale By Owner listings….they know you have more “room for negotiation” if you don’t have to pay a commission! So be prepared for unrealistic, and sometimes downright insulting offers to come your way.
However, if you are determined to sell your home without a real estate agent, here are 3 proven ways to promote your listing:
- Film an HD video tour of your home. According to the latest NAR research, less than one percent of FSBO listings use video to promote their home. This will give you a huge competitive advantage if you’re willing to produce a video tour of your home! Hire a local videographer to film a high quality tour of your home. This will allow prospective buyers to “tour” the home and experience the floor plan. It’s also much easier to promote your home when you have a unique call to action like “Watch The HD Video Tour.” Plan to spend around $300-$500 hiring a professional to film and edit the video.
- Create a special website for your home. Let’s say your home is 1234 Main Street. Buy the website domain 1234MainStreet.com, and launch a website for your home! Because your home is not listed on the official MLS, you will need a high quality website where buyers can find out more information about your listing. It will help your listing seem more “professional,” which will attract higher quality offers. Plan to spend around $500 to launch a basic website for your home.
- Promote your listing with targeted social media advertising. I use Facebook ads to promote all of my listings. I spend hundreds of dollars per listing to ensure that it’s seen by tens of thousands of people. Many people no longer read the newspaper or listen to the radio, so social media is a very cost effective way to reach a large number of people (yet less than 7% of FSBO listings are promoted on social media). You can even target specific zip codes with Facebook ads, which is a really useful strategy when selling homes. Usually, I spend at least $200-$400 on social media ads to promote my listings (sometimes more).
Oh, and one more thing.
Before you decide to sell your home, take this multiple-choice quiz to find out if you could save money by selling as a For Sale By Owner.
It’s just 12 questions long, and will help you figure out if it’s a wise decision for your specific situation.
Good luck! If you have any questions on the Colorado Springs real estate market, feel free to text (or call) me. My personal cell phone number is (719) 393-3633
PS
BEFORE you decide to sell your home, make sure you’ve done your research.
We have a dynamic housing market here in Colorado Springs, so it’s important that you make an informed decision. It takes about two minutes to take the For Sale By Owner Quiz at www.ColoradoSpringsFSBOquiz.com
Take the quiz, and make an informed decision if you decide to sell your home!
