Considering that by using a flat fee MLS, Texas homeowners can sell their homes with greater profit margins, the FSBO route has become sought after.
However, there are still hesitant sellers who are skeptical of the flat fee MLS Texas sellers use to sell their homes.
That’s because, for every story of FSBO success, there’s a more compelling story of its failure, leaving sellers to wonder what is the best way forward.
In this housing market, the best way forward is to use MLS listing services strategically.
The 3 Step Strategy to a Successful FSBO Sale
The strategies outlined below detail the process to ensure you have a lucrative FSBO sale.
Use the Best Texas Real Estate Listing Service
The foundation of a successful FSBO sale as a Texas seller is to find the best Texas real estate listing service because your sale is predicated on the features and reach offered by your listing service. Taking that into consideration, there are two components you should use to evaluate if you’re choosing the best Texas real estate listing service, which includes:
- Syndication within your market
The only flat fee MLS Texas sellers should use is one that has syndication to all major MLS in their market. Buyer agents use one – county-specific – MLS. If you want to reach agents in other counties, you need an MLS with significant reach.
- Features that make selling easier
Selling through a listing agent has one benefit: convenience. Platforms like Houzeo make selling convenient by digitizing the real estate transaction, including accepting and negotiating offers.
The Cost: $329 (on Houzeo)
Considering that Houzeo has consistently been voted the best flat fee MLS listing service, Texas homeowners who use the service get the combination of convenience and market syndication. But, other options exist. FSBO.com and Congress Realty are cheaper alternatives but don’t have as much market syndication.
Get Professional Photographs Taken
Pictures help buyer agents determine whether your home is worth their buyer’s time. Preparing and staging your home for photos will attract more buyer agents and assist in an expedited sale.
The Cost: $200
The average fee for 24 professionally taken and edited real estate photographs in Texas is $200. Given that pictures assist in accelerating a sale, you’ll get that fee back in fewer days on the market.
Use a Digital Lockbox
One complaint sellers have is that the FSBO process requires too much hands-on work. You can automate one critical element by using a lockbox.
With a lockbox, you ensure that brokers can access your home without your presence.
The Cost: $20 to $50
Listing With a Listing Agent vs a Texas Real Estate MLS Listing Service
In total, you’ll spend $580 on a convenient, expeditious FSBO website, contrasted by the $5250 you’ll spend on a listing agent if your home is within the ballpark of the state average of $172,500. If your home is worth more, you’ll spend more. Considering that 94% of FSBO sellers who use the above strategy achieve sales stats similar to those who sell using listing agents, the obvious choice is to save the 3% commission and use a Texas Real Estate MLS Listing Service.
