Selling on the market simply means broadcasting your home sale to the whole world. Okay, that was a bit exaggerated, but selling on the market really means letting your target area know that you’re selling your Georgia home.
The popular understanding of selling on the market is listing your home in a Multiple Listing Service that only licensed real estate professionals can access. That’s why, when you read about selling your home on the market, it also usually means hiring a real estate agent, broker, or realtor.
However, know that you don’t necessarily need a real estate agent to sell your Georgia home on the market. There are a couple of online Multiple Listing Services that are already open to the general public. You only need to pay a corresponding flat fee to get your home listed.
Before deciding to sell on the market with an agent or not, it is important to know whether an MLS is a reasonable plan of action for you. Here are the pros and cons of listing your home on the market.
Pros of Listing in a Multiple Listing Service
As mentioned, one of the advantages of hiring a real estate agent is that they’ll list your home on the MLS they’re accredited with. Additionally, a lot of homeowners who make an FSBO sale also list their homes on an open MLS. How beneficial, really, is listing your home on the MLS that everyone seems to prefer it?
Increased Visibility
This is by far the biggest advantage of selling on the market. To give you a clear definition, a traditional (non-open) Multiple Listing Service is a tool where cooperating real estate brokers can share information about the properties they sell. One broker can help sell another broker’s property, and in turn, they get compensated. Because of this, more people will know that your home is for sale, increasing your chances of a sale.
No Need to Qualify Buyers
Buyers who subscribe to an MLS to scout for a home provide some of their personal information already. This includes their age and their locations to name a few. Hence you get an idea of whether they are truly a potential home buyer.
Additionally, buyers who sign up for an MLS area are most likely active buyers. If they’re going to use a mortgage, they know how important it is to get pre-approved to convince sellers they’re serious about buying. You won’t be wasting time “investigating” whether the buyer inquiring is just pretending or not.
Saves You Time and Effort
Since MLS buyers are already qualified, you won’t also have to waste time taking phone calls, answering text messages, or emails from buyers who really have no intention of buying. It is even possible that “bogus” buyers will schedule home showings just for a fun tour. Listing your home on the MLS will help you avoid this.
Cons of Listing in a Multiple Listing Service
Now let’s take a look at the other side. While majority of homeowners sell their homes on the market, not everyone does. Home sellers have different preferences when it comes to their personal life and this includes their home. The increased visibility provided by on-the-market selling isn’t always great for some home sellers who prefer selling their home quietly and without a lot of fuss. Here are some other reasons why listing in an MLS is not always the best idea:
Less Privacy
If many people know of your home sale, many interested buyers will request to visit your property. This means that you’ll have to prep your home. For some people, it’s strange and uncomfortable because it means that you’ll have to welcome strangers into your home.
In other cases, some homeowners don’t want their neighbors or friends to know they’re selling due to reasons they don’t want to disclose. For example, if the reason for selling is because the homeowners are going through divorce, sometimes they don’t want to talk about personal matters anymore to people. If you find yourself in a similar situation, listing on the MLS will not be a suitable way for you.
Pressure of Staging
The real estate market is highly competitive. Remember that your home is not going to be the only option for interested buyers. They won’t just inquire from you, but they’re going to compare properties. So, to be more “attractive”, homeowners stage their home. Well, they’re brokers do.
It’s important to make your house feel safe, comfortable, relaxing, and on par with the vibes of your neighborhood or the architecture of the entire property. Remember that buying a home is a very personal thing, and buying decisions will be influenced by how your buyers feel when they step inside your home.
Sellers who do FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sometimes hire professional home stagers to make sure their home is ready for visitors.
Longer DOM Makes Your Home Look Bad
This is one of the more overlooked disadvantages of listing a home on an MLS. Your listing date will be displayed on your profile and people will see how long your property has been on the market. If they see your home has been on the market for too long compared to other houses, they’re going to wonder whether there’s something wrong with your property and will avoid it more.
Commission Fee
Last but not the least, if you sell on the market, you’ll have to pay an agent’s commission fee. Yes, even if you sell without an agent and list your home in an open MLS. Some open MLS require you to pay a flat fee and still charge you additionally to pay your buyer’s agent.
If you need the help of a real estate professional and still enjoy the privacy, you can request to list your home as a pocket listing. This involves letting only a selected few know about your home sale. This is often offered by professionals who have plenty of highly qualified buyers including real estate investors.
Know more about this by calling us at HomeSold GA, 770-668-4888.