Home Sellers Regret Going it Alone

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Homeowners who used a real estate professional to sell their homes reported a 50 percent better closing rate than those who went it alone, according to a new consumer survey by HomeGain.

Fifty-nine percent of home owners that used a real estate professional to sell their home were successful vs. 39 percent of for-sale-by-owners, reflecting a 50 percent higher closing rate for those home sellers using a professional.

Eighty-one percent of homeowners that used a professional to try and sell their homes said they would use a professional again for their real estate needs.

HomeGain found that 17 percent of potential sellers would try to sell their homes on their own, a significantly higher number than the 9 percent market share for FSBOs reported in the National Association of Realtors' 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.

FSBO rates as measured by the NAR Profile over the years has fallen from 14 percent of sales in 2003 to 9 percent last year. However, the HomeGain data may not represent a rise in actual FSBO transactions. The NAR study measures actual transactions after they close, while HomeGain surveyed the intentions of homeowners who had not yet put their homes on the market.

In fact, HomeGain found that 24 percent of FSBO sellers eventually enlisted the aid of a real estate professional to help sell their homes. Only 71 percent of FSBO sellers who managed to sell their homes on their own said they would try and sell their home on their own again.

"It is especially striking that homeowners fare significantly better in selling their homes using a real estate professional than selling on their own." said Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain. "Due to that relative success, the level of satisfaction in the home selling process is also higher for home sellers utilizing the services of a REALTOR® than those who try to sell their homes on their own."