It’s no secret that listing agents typically charge a commission of about 4 percent to 6 percent of the home’s selling price. Most sellers will price that commission into their asking price so they can walk away from the sale with the profit they want.
So if you sell your home for $300K and you agree on a 5% commission, your agent will get a nice $15,000 paycheck and you get $285K minus your selling expenses.
I know what you’re thinking — $15,000 seems like a lot. Why not skip the commission and sell the house yourself? After all, your home is in good condition in a good neighborhood, you’re well connected with a marketing background, you have the time and patience — what’s the big deal about going FSBO?
Well, today’s real estate market is very different from the one a few years ago when homes practically sold themselves. And you can’t just plop a “for sale” sign on the lawn, post an ad on Craigslist and wait for buyers to show up. (Maybe if people are clamoring to get into your neighborhood or you price the home way below market value.)
Today, homes can take as long as 6-9 months to sell. Listing agents are paid a commission once they find you a “ready, able and willing buyer.” And in this market, that’s no easy feat. Sure buyers are everywhere, but a serious buyer who’s got financing? Kinda like finding a single guy at a movie screening of “The Proposal.”
Before you decide to take matters in your own hands, weigh the pros and cons. Do you really have the time to market your listing, show your home to buyers, coordinate inspections and close the deal? $15,000 may seem like a lot, but when you add up the value of the time and effort it takes to sell in this market, it may not be so unreasonable. Besides, commissions are negotiable, and many agents are willing to work with you to get your business. If you’re just wary of working with a real estate agent, try these tips for finding the right agent for you.
And to help you get a handle on the selling process, check out FrontDoor’s Guide to Selling a Home. You’ll get a better sense of what the process entails so you can decide whether you can take this on yourself or would rather leave it up to a professional.
HGTV has always been about enhancing your home and home life. So it makes sense that FrontDoor.com, the real estate site powered by HGTV, is about enhancing your search for the place you call home. That means bringing you valuable tips and advice to help you make smart decisions. So in addition to our blog and large library of articles and videos, we’ve created a vlog.
Real estate topics can be dry and boring, and most of the real estate news videos I’ve seen out there are just that. As the host, I want this to be informative and fun. And as a journalist, I want this to be relevant, since today’s buyers and homeowners don’t have time to sift through all the information that’s out there.
The vlog is not meant to be fancy or flashy. It’s our way of connecting with you as that smart friend “in the know.” Future episodes will feature different topics and occasionally a special guest. If there’s something you’d like to know or have an idea or pitch for the vlog, we want to hear it. Post a comment here and we could feature it in our next episode!
FrontDoor’s on-air promotion has kicked into high gear with our newest TV spots currently airing on HGTV. The new spots tease our 3 million+ listings and our new “Explore The Neighborhood” feature. Check out the spot below.
Recently, the FrontDoor team closed out the Inman Connect SF conference with a big win by being named “the most innovative media site” by Inman News. See the announcement We took the win as a huge honor because innovation is something we strive for in everything we do.
But what made us stand out? We think it has to do with something that Vikki Neil touched on in her panel discussion at the Inman Conference. See the video; remarks begin at 12:50
It’s actually pretty simple. Listings are only a part of the experience. A big part, to be sure. But, what about the consumer that’s buying their first home and has no idea where to start? What about the person that’s wondering why they might choose a victorian over a mid-century modern? There’s a massive universe of content and experiences surrounding the real estate space that FrontDoor embraces.
We’ve only just begun to leverage the massive library of content from our HGTV siblings. Even in our own organization, we’ve been dreaming up ways to use existing content. Examples such as our Designed To Sell series take entertainment-based videos and put some real utility behind them. And, we’re creating great new FrontDoor-exclusive series of our own.
We’re just getting started. All-in-all, the win was a big affirmation for our entire team and it just serves to point out how the view from our FrontDoor is more complete and appealing than ever before.
Planning for the launch of FrontDoor’s official blog has been a curious process. Since the days before our beta site went live last November, the FrontDoor team has been ruminating on how best to make a unique mark in the real estate blogosphere.
Certainly, others have already blazed the “official blog” trail, and there is no shortage of inspiration as to the kind of content we knew we’d be “expected” to have.
But there was the rub… that one little word: “expected.”
As the offspring of a major lifestyle media company, we’re used to blazing trails and looking at the world through all kinds of different lenses. So, it makes sense that we’d approach our blog in the same way.
We’re not saying we’re going to redefine the whole real estate blog genre. From time-to-time, we’ll use our blog (as others do) as a forum to let the world know about the new and cool stuff we’re cooking up at FrontDoor HQ.
But, we’ll also step outside our own walls and toss out some of our observations and questions of/about the entire real estate universe.In fact, we’re going even further and inviting some of the web’s savviest real estate bloggers to our party to create even more lively debate and discussion. (You know that dude at the party that simply MUST be the center of attention at all times? FrontDoor is so NOT that guy.)
At FrontDoor, we want users to feel like they’re going househunting with a really smart, “in-the-know” friend. And, here on the blog, we hope you’ll feel like you’re hanging out with some really smart people who love real estate… people who care about making their corner of the blogosphere a smart, creative and engaging place to spend a few minutes each day.
So, we invite you to come inside and take a look around. Sit and read for a spell. Drop by anytime.
The FrontDoor’s open, and there’s no need to knock.
It’s no secret that listing agents typically charge a commission of about 4 percent to 6 percent of the home’s selling price. Most sellers will price that commission into their asking price so they can walk away from the sale with the profit they want.
![The FrontDoor core team shows off their \](http://blog.frontdoor.com/files/2008/08/img_3253.jpg "The FrontDoor Team shows off their \")
Planning for the launch of FrontDoor’s official blog has been a curious process. Since the days before our beta site went live last November, the FrontDoor team has been ruminating on how best to make a unique mark in the real estate blogosphere.
Subscribe to this blog
Friend us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter