Agents Don't Always Act in Seller's Best Interest - New Study
A recent study by two University of Chicago economists suggests that real estate agents often do not act in the best interest of their customer, the home seller and that home sellers should regard agents with some caution.
The landmark study by two Univeristy of Chicago economists Chad Syverson and Professor Steven Levitt compared data on homes that agents sold on behalf of others with those that they owned and sold for themselves. They analyzed sales from 1992 to 2002 of 98,000 homes in suburban Chicago, of which 3,300 were owned by real estate agents.
The results showed that homes owned by the agents themselves sold for 3.7% more than comparable homes owned by clients, while staying on the market 9.7 days longer. The authors go on to point out how the commission system gives the agent little incentive to maximize the selling price for their customer the home seller. All home sellers considering selling through a real estate agent should pay close attention, more details are here.
Major Victory for California Consumers and FSBOs
California consumers have more freedom of choice in the selling of their own homes thanks to a recent ruling by Sacramento U.S. District Court Judge Morrison C. England Jr.
California's Department of Real Estate had filed a cease and desist order against ForSaleByOwner.com, claiming that the New York company was selling real estate without a license.
A California law allowed only licensed real estate brokers to collect a fee for publishing real estate listings. While the law exempted newspapers, the department interpreted the law to permit classified listings in print and on websites operated by newspapers but not by websites not affiliated with newspapers.
The judge apparently agreed with the FSBO websites, saying that the exemption "appears wholly arbitrary."
FSBO advocates and consumers are pleased that choices for California home sellers such as free California home advertising site California For Sale By Owner Properties will continue to be available.
See the column at Realty Times for a good real estate agent oriented viewpoint at FSBOs, FSBO Site Win California Court Victory.
Free Real Estate Forms
Need Real Estate forms to assist you in selling your own home or property? While many people offer forms on the web, high quality Free forms are much harder to find.
We have worked hard to put togther a large collection of free real estate forms, including Disclosure Statements, Offer to Purchase, Sales Contracts, Quit Claim Deeds and more for many states, most from official sources, at http://www.allthelistings.com/freeforms.php
Find any free real estate forms for states that we are missing? Please post here for others to benefit.
Wally
Welcome to the FSBO Guru
Welcome to the FSBO Guru weblog. This Blog is to serve the needs of two groups, the For Sale By Owner home seller who wants to use the power of the Internet to help market and sell their home and the member of the fledgling FSBO web site industry. Interested in selling your home online with good exposure for a low price? I've been able to assist over 30,000 home sellers since 1999. Many other experienced people are available to lend a hand, so please bring your questions and suggestions.
FSBO site owners, or those interested in getting into the business are welcome here as well. How to tips, links and collaboration and more, please both give and get a hand.
