According to NAR's 2003 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, there's more good news for Realtors as the number of sellers using agents has increased from 77 percent in 1999 to 83 percent in 2003. Fourteen percent sold as FSBOs, and typical sellers' homes sold in five weeks (one week longer than in 2001) at 98 percent of list price.

A lot hasn't changed since the 2002 buyer/seller profile - sellers still pick the first agent they meet, most homes sold were in the suburbs, and most sellers sold their homes after six years, unchanged from 2001. But there's one stat that hasn't changed much that has Realtors delighted - the number of FSBO sellers has barely increased.

Thirteen percent of sellers sold their own homes in 2001, and fourteen percent in 2003, but that's still down from a high of 18 percent in 1997. NAR president Cathy Whatley said the number reflects that a "significant portion of FSBO transactions are not placed on the open market. Forty-four percent of buyers who purchased their home directly from an owner during the first quarter knew that seller in advance, compared with about 27 percent in 2001."

"In fact, the slight increase in overall FSBOs results entirely from the rise in closely held transactions," Whatley explained. "If you just look at homes placed on the open market, only 5 percent of buyers in early 2003 purchased directly from sellers they didn't know in advance of the transaction – down from 11 percent in 2001."

One reason that the number of FSBOs hasn't gone up more could be due in part to the rise of limited service brokers. While business models differ, most limited service models offer a plan to put the FSBO home in the MLS and allow the seller to do his/her own showings, negotiations, etc. What is unknown at this time is how much market share limited brokerage has in general, and specific to the NAR survey, how many sellers would have gone FSBO without limited service offerings.

Limited service brokerage would add yet another lively element to NAR research with the first question being how to classify them and their sellers or buyers. Is limited service brokerage by law, or should the sellers who use them be called agent-assisted FSBOs? The question isn't as far-fetched as it sounds. The Texas Real Estate Commission recently tried to enact a rule that requires brokers to provide negotiation services, which would have resulted in the elimination of limited service brokers ability to put FSBO homes in local MLSs. A procedural error caused the rule to be struck down, but the Texas Association of Realtors vows it will encourage the commission to readopt the rule.

Ellen Roche, vice president of research for the NAR, says, "I think we continue to be surprised that the FSBO number isn't higher, with all the buzz about the Internet. There isn't more of an impact. This demonstrates that our members provide a valuable service. People need help in a transaction as complex as homebuying."

The NAR doesn't distinguish service models in the survey so far, but may in the future by asking sellers such questions as what services did their agents perform for them to determine the type of services they used.

"We try to keep the questions consistent, unless there is a reason to change the survey. The advent of the Internet is a good example," says Roche, "so if we added agent-assisted sellers, it would break apart the category. What we should do is ask what services did your agent or broker provide?"

Also of interest in the survey is the apparent confusion sellers have over how their agents marketed their homes. Sellers claimed that the marketing tool used most often by their agents was the yard sign (75 percent.) Also, only 61 percent believed their agents had marketed their homes on the Internet. That directly contradicts Realtor.com's claim of having 90 percent of all listed homes online. Almost all Realtors belong to an MLS, yet only 83 percent of sellers believed their home was listed in the MLS.

"I think every home gets a yard sign," says Roche, "One possibility is at the beginning of year when most homes were sold the market was so quick, many were sold before they went on the Internet, and they had offers so quickly. I always go with what is the agent's incentive? To me, their incentive is to let the sellers know how many different ways they are marketing their homes."

These are discrepancies that listings agents should note, as clarity about marketing services could impact the bottom line of customer satisfaction. While 70 percent of sellers say they would use the same agent again, the number of satisfied customers clearly has room for improvement.

Grade C may be good enough for some people to become president of the United States, but it shouldn't be good enough for a professional Realtor. Consider that most Realtors get their prospects from referrals (40 percent) or previous service to the seller (27 percent.) So while 70 percent of sellers say they would use the same agent again, only 27 percent did. Interesting, eh?