Deciding between selling your house off-market or on the MLS? The motivation for off-market sales is to save on realtor commission. Many homeowners are experienced with real estate transactions and believe they don’t need real estate agent’s helping hand.
Even if you’re comfortable with home sales, benefits of an MLS listing are substantial. Before ruling out the MLS route, consider the following advantages:
Maximum Visibility & Exposure: The MLS is the most frequented outlet for home buyers. Listing your house creates maximum exposure. Prospective in your market (and even all over the world!) will be made aware your property is for sale. This exposure leads to more offers, heated competition, and driven up sale price. Your MLS listing also allows for an array of color photographs, colorful description, detailed property information, brokerage and public remarks, financing and pricing requests.
Put Buyer Agents To Work: Exposure goes beyond the buyer finding your sale. Whether or not you need a listing agent, prospective homeowners utilize buyer agents daily. Many buyers exclusively view properties known to their realtor. Buyer agents are likely unaware of your off-market sale, and in turn, their clients may be as well. The listing puts every buyer agent on notice that your house is for sale.
Online Presence: Home buyers, like every one else, start their purchase journey on the internet. They will search on Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor websites for active listings. These websites have automatic updates when new properties come on the market. MLS listings appear across all the major home listing websites.
How can you get your property listed for sale on the MLS? Listing on the MLS requires the listing agent to be a licensed realtor. You can hire a licensed realtor to quarterback your entire sale – and this typically costs around 4 to 6% of sale price in commissions. Alternatively, you can do “flat fee” listing for several hundred dollars. “Flat flee” listing will get your property shown on the MLS, though you manage reviewing offers, showings, negotiations, photography. You can also get online presence (as well as a flat fee listing arrangement) with websites like FSBO.com and Foresalebyowner.com.
Besides realtor commission, there are other reasons homeowners wish to sell off-market. Sellers may wish to keep their sale private, limit showings to a handful of buyers, complete the sale immediately. Buyers are skeptical of lengthy exclusive listing agreements, or unsure if they actually want to sell. Before skipping the MLS listing, make sure to carefully weigh the pros and cons!
