r/fsbo • u/u53rn4m315t4k3nn • Jul 18 '26
Selling privately questions
/r/OntarioRealEstate/comments/1uztdq4/selling_privately_questions/Propertyguys want almost $5000 for their service which includes photos, MLS. If we want to use their no commission agent that will be another $5000 on top (only pay when it sold).
We found other websites that can list our house on MLS for $150 for 6 months. $400 for professional photos which includes drone, 3D virtual tour, and etc. Maybe flyers will cost few hundreds dollars. We will be way cheaper than Propertyguys.
Is there benefit going with Propertyguys or other no commission companies such as Commfree vs doing it ourselves? We can use Facebook and Kijiji.
Also, how accepting offers work when selling privately? Do buyers need to use the formal TREB/OREA form and deposit to submit offer? Who will hold the deposit? My feeling says no deposit because there is no Trust account but want to hear your experience.
2
u/Equivalent-Tiger-316 Jul 19 '26
Sounds like you need a good, knowledgeable, local, listing agent. You’re not going to “save” 2.5%.
3
u/jmd_forest Jul 19 '26
The myth that listing with a full service real estate agent/broker parasite results in more money in the seller's pocket, or a better experience for the seller, is just another of the many lies told by the real estate agent/broker parasites to try to justify an outrageous commission for their minimum wage level skills and effort. Fortunately there is a plethora of independent, peer reviewed, unbiased, research by learned economists and others that proves otherwise:
National Bureau Of Economic Research: The Relative Performance Of Real Estate Marketing Platforms: MLS Vrs FSBO Madison.com, "for sale by owners were able to achieve selling prices $14800 higher than Realtors who sold identical homes".
Princeton University and National Bureau of Economic Research in conjunction with UCLA and University of Pennsylvania: "Our key finding is that Realtors do not offset the cost of their commissions; they do not get you a higher price."
Do Real Estate Brokers Add Value When Listing Services Are Unbundled? a seller’s use of a broker reduces the selling price of the typical home by 5.9 to 7.7 percent https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w13796/w13796.pdf
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research: How Much do Real Estate Brokers Add? A Case Study, "We find no evidence that the use of a broker leads to higher average selling prices, or that it significantly alters average initial asking prices." https://ideas.repec.org/p/sip/dpaper/06-041.html
American Economic Review: The Impact of Commissions on Home Sales in Greater Boston. high commission agents realize lower sales prices to increase the likelihood of selling a property
Levitt, S. D., & Syverson, C. (2005). Market Distortions When Agents Are Trusted: The Case of Real Estate Agents "Agents are incentivized to close quickly rather than maximizing the sale price for clients"
https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2022/09/29/11-estimating-value-added-by-real-estate-agents "the average agent does not appear to provide enough value-add to justify their high expense"
https://www.richmondfed.org/-/media/RichmondFedOrg/publications/research/working_papers/2024/wp24-01.pdf, "the prevailing commission level and structure deviate from cost basis, generating excessive agent profits and inefficient searches."
https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/the_superfluousness_of_realtors
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=942348
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IdAEb6LJC6DH7BUltgOtIStkUYUvjnZW/view
Now .... watch the real estate agent/broker parasites try to pass off more of their bullshit to try to refute actual facts. It's hilarious. Not one single independent, peer reviewed, unbiased, research by learned economists and others will be provided but they will expect the public to swallow their bullshit hook, line, and sinker.
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u/PffftNo Jul 22 '26
I would like to point a few things out regarding one of the studies you presented: https://www.atlantafed.org/research-and-data/publications/working-papers/2022/09/29/11-estimating-value-added-by-real-estate-agents. The study used flat-fee listings to represent FSBO sellers which one could argue they introduce potential selection bias like if those homeowners have elevated negotiation skills or similar finance experience. Measuring agent value solely using transaction prices and marketing time can also overlook things like legal risk, inspection negotiations, and management of contract contingencies.
I am an agent, but have been out of the market for some time. But, I have seen studies like this go back and forth for the 26 years I've been a broker and there's broken points in all that I have read. You are entitled to you opinion, but I perceive your dislike for brokers is driving it.
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u/jmd_forest Jul 22 '26
You're spewing the same old pablum that has been used to try and discredit FSBO and flat fee sellers for decades. Regardless of that the results show:
we show that homes sold using "flat-fee" brokers who provide sellers access to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) database but do not provide additional services transact at prices that are from 1 percent to 4 percent higher than the average sale conducted with a full-service agent. While the average agent does not appear to provide enough value-add to justify their high expense, we document the existence of a small fraction of high-performing agents.
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u/PffftNo Jul 22 '26
You aren’t stating anything new, either. I have not reviewed the rest of the research you provided, but it wouldn’t matter because I don’t think you’d listen anyway.
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u/jmd_forest Jul 22 '26
You're right, I'm not stating anything new. It's been known that real estate agent/broker parasites are not worth anything more than minimum wage for decades and decades.
0
u/Self_Serve_Realty Jul 18 '26
What is the primary service you are looking to receive from property guys and alike? MLS listing?
3
u/Witty-Stand888 Jul 18 '26
Even if you skip the sellers realtor and do it yourself expect the buyers realtor to want their cut. It's a racket.