Gabriola for sale by owner listings
Are there house for sale by owner
signs on Gabriola? Oh yes. In fact, there are so many people selling their own Gabriola houses that I wonder if real estate agents have a much of a future.
Before real estate agents came along, all property sales were for sale by owner, as far as I can tell. Selling one’s house – or farm – was as simple as putting up a sign, then waiting. Sooner or later a buyer came along, a lawyer took care of the contract and land transfer stuff, and that was that.
When realtors captured the market, they did so by promoting their ability to market a property, epecially through the MLS (multiple listing service) system. The idea of reaching buyers easily was appealing to vendors, so using a realtor became the thing to do when selling one’s house. Now, of course, the MLS is on the web — the Canadian one is at MLS.ca.
But that’s not all that’s on the web. Vendors who are selling their homes look at the MLS listing pages and think I could do that, and for way less than the thousands the realtor wants to charge me.
They find sites like the For Sale by Owner Primer to help them evaluate alternatives. And so these days, we’re seeing more and more house vendors on the web – with their for sale by owner listings.
Meanwhile, buyers search specifically for for sale by owner on Gabriola listings. Last January I noticed that a lot of people were winding up at Gabriolan.ca as a result of that search; that’s what brought this whole topic to my attention. I put up this blog post to help those web-searchers.
A few months later I noticed a bunch of Property Guys signs around Gabriola – have you seen them? (It turns out that Property Guys is a franchise, and they offer fixed price listing packages to people who want to list properties for sale.)
I’m used to seeing people use these sell your own house services on Gabriola, but here’s a new thing: get a load of this sign! It’s on Berry Point Road at the foot of Norwich Hill. The vendor is doing a for sale by owner thing, and using a house for sale weblog to get the word out about the property. Wow.
I’ve also noticed for sale by owner listings on local bulletin boards, on websites like Craigslist, in the Gabriola newspapers (The Sounder and Flying Shingle). It seems that this FSBO trend keeps growing.
Oh, and another thing: years ago, for sale by owner properties were dumps, sold by people who seemed pretty odd. But now? There are some top-rate Gabriola properties in the for sale by owner category, including some walk-on-waterfront properties with amazing houses.
I know there are a few realtors who read this blog; perhaps they — and you! — will have some comments to contribute. What does everybody think about this for sale by owner trend? Would you sell your own house? Will this trend eventually put realtors out of business?
Disclaimer: I am not a realtor. My house is not for sale. I don’t work for any of these for sale by owner listing companies, and I don’t have any friends who are selling their own houses. In other words, I’m not trying to sell you anything.
Filed in Gabriola Island 5 Comments so far
5 Responses to “Gabriola for sale by owner listings”
rick on 25 Sep 2009 at 11:01 am #
Although it may seem like a few more ‘fsbos’ than normal, I am not concerned about the demise of Realtors on this island any time soon.
There are three main reasons to sell a property through a real estate brokerage. First, the Realtor can screen prospective buyers and bring only ‘qualified’ buyers (as opposed to tire-kickers and curious neighbours). Opening your home to anyone who calls can be risky and a waste of time. Secondly, Realtors – by law – follow some pretty strict procedures regarding the purchase and sale of property – procedures that are designed to protect all parties from liability. They can legally hold deposits and they actively work at helping buyers resolve issues of concern so an offer to purchase can actually result in a sale. Thirdly – Realtors use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as a primary marketing tool – and with good reason. It works. Today’s serious and informed buyers use the MLS to find listings – and are more comfortable approaching a Realtor with questions about a property than they are approaching the owner. Not everyone likes to shop at yard sales.
By googling ‘FSBO vs Realtor’ you will find exhaustive arguments and stats that pretty much prove why most FSBO’s end up on MLS and why sales are faster and for more money when a real estate professional is involved.
anon on 28 Sep 2009 at 12:56 am #
Let’s be fair. Most realtors work hard at a demanding, unenviable all-hour stand-by, esteem-challenged job. Why begrudge their hard-earned fees? Let’s also be realistic, whatever the growing FSBO trend these days, they are not about to go away. Not quietly, in any event.
But let’s be also see things for what they are: the Real Estate industry is a powerful monopoly mongering entity whose appetite for disingenuous self-justification apparently knows no bounds.
Not to be uttered nor taken lightly, and yet not difficult to substantiate.
The above Real Estate spokesperson’s comments are precisely a case in point; the type of self-serving vacuous propaganda the public is increasingly become wary and weary of. And whereas in prosperous times we might be inclined to hold our noses and go along for expediency’s sake, the current economic downturn demands a more critical look.
Selling a house is a high-stakes endeavor that involves a great deal of money. Often, it also involves a great deal of ego. The overly attached, house proud owner for example, versus, say, an aggressive/mercenary type buyer. The best that can be said about using a realtor is that as middle-man/mediator he/she can ameliorate potential friction and help bring about a successful sale. That said, however, how do realtors stack up to other middlemen? How do they justify their exorbitant fees? Are they more important than a divorce lawyer? A grief counselor? A doctor? A priest? How much education is required to become a realtor? How many PhD realtors out there?
The Real Estate industry has effectively bamboozled the public into believing their hyped claims of essentialness and efficacy. MLS? Redundant with the advent of the Internet! Legal expertise/paperwork? Well, they can’t do it better than a lawyer, and while lawyers don’t come cheaply, the latter’s fee comprise but a fraction of what realtors skim off the top. Buyers prefer to deal with realtors (read sellers can’t be trusted)? Now, there’s something! But of course, like most people buyers are lazy. Realtors make it easy and alluring – buyers get a free tour guide, get chauffeured around in Hummers and SUVS.
Buyers are charmed, tickled pink by the ever-available, non-obliging, kind, generous realtor. The buyer believes the realtor works for them. Hold on to that thought.
On the seller’s side it’s a different story. Selling a home most often involves a life change of some sort. Death, divorce, illness—a career change. There’s pressure. It may take months to make the sale, sometimes a year or more. The seller’s on perpetual stand-by to make the place presentable. The seller has entered into a contract with the realtor. Since he’s paying the commission, he rightly believes the realtor works for him. Hold on to that too.
In reality, realtors work for (in the sense of having best interests at stake) neither the seller nor buyer. Realtors work for their own self-interest.
What of it?
Well, consider the following:
1. Ever wonder why realtors flatly refuse to negotiate the commission fee? Keep wondering.
2. One of the more odious practices is the requirement that the seller sign a so-called “Dual Agency” document giving the realtor permission to represent BOTH seller and buyer (!). It effectively consents to a conflict of interest that is as absurd as it may be illegal. It’s like hiring a lawyer to represent both you and your opponent. Sellers sign this document because they simply want to get on with the business.
3. Realtors acquire millions upon millions of dollars of FREE inventory. They anoint and sanction this inventory with their high school mug shot, write incredibly cheesy ad copy, take really bad photographs in a digital age when bad photography is almost impossible, they take out some block advertisements in the local paper, perpetually redesign their websites and go to town, humming along in their Hummers. If, for argument’s sake, there are 75 properties in the local cabal’s inventory list at any one time, it matters little whether property A, B, C or X, Y Z sells. What matters is that as many of those properties stay on the market for as long as possible. The realtors make money.
4. There are as many real estate companies as there are colours in the rainbow. But there is no competition. Realtors cooperate (read price fix). They divvy up the pie. What does it matter what realtor the seller lists with?
5. The commission rate is structured so that the bulk of earnings are on the first 100 K. Anything over is gravy. Effectively this means there is no commitment to price integrity. A 50 K drop in price is a staggering amount for a seller. It means very little to the realtor, because for a mid-range property it amounts to barely a thousand dollars. One of the most successful realtors on Gabriola won award after award for highest sales numbers. The realtor also had a reputation for low-balling properties. Coincidence?
The big boys in real estate also known as developers know how to do it. They don’t hire realtors. They set up their own sales offices—hire sales staff. Outside realtors may be invited to participate—but there’s never any doubt who’s boss.
And isn’t that what a FSBO does, on a smaller scale? Shame, really, that sellers/fsbos and realtors can’t find some equitable common ground. What seller would object to paying a reasonable ‘finders fee’ to a realtor or to anyone else for that matter, upon the completion of a successful sale? But, that of course would be akin to driving a stake into the very heart of the dark beast. FSBOs are absolute anathema to realtors. They represent the only real competition and are as loathed as they are feared.
I heard it from a realtor once – a realtor will sooner walk barefoot over glass than to bring a potential buyer to a FSBO’s door.
If you’re a FSBO and reading this I say put up a big banner across your signs: REALTORS WELCOME!
And keep your chin up!
rick on 28 Sep 2009 at 10:47 am #
At the risk of giving credence to the above comments, I will briefly reply – if only to irk the author – who obviously has a hatred on for Realtors. I will do it without the bitter vitriol and insults.
“Professionalism pays” is an oft-quoted adage in the real estate industry. Apparently NOT in the previous writer’s profession, where specious argument and confrontation is the norm – and that does NOT sell houses.
Most of the angry accusations were broad and false. Taking shots at Realtors is easy, but betrays the author’s jealousy and lack of substantive arguments. The statistics tell the tale. I have no love for the real estate industry, but to try and infer that – under normal conditions – selling a home privately is as effective as selling it through the MLS system, is false and misleading. There are many objective studies done to support the claim that homes sold through the existing system sell faster and for more money than otherwise. Look it up.
Certainly some sellers are better at marketing than others and may well be suited to sell their own properties, but for the overwhelming majority, a Realtor can to it more effectively with less hassle. Most folks don’t mind paying for that.
Pat on 30 Sep 2009 at 9:08 pm #
Believing what realtors say about how necessary they are is like believing a telegraph operator in 1910 who is telling you that the telphone will never be important, telegraph is the way of the future. When is the last time you sent a telegram? Once house sellers and buyers learn how to really work the internet, the game is OVER for realtors. Dude, it is so. totally. over.
Pat
SMM on 19 Oct 2009 at 9:10 pm #
Now as someone who has purchased a property with a realtor and a different property through an owner. And as someone who has sold her own home and sold a home with a realtor. Both have good points.
I think going with a realtor as a first time buyer was a good learning experience. But when I sold that same property myself I learned a great deal more. And I ended up with a hefty chunk of paper money in the process.
When I bought my second property I used a realtor and it was a piece of cake. When I sold that second property I used a realtor but chose my realtor because he was willing to negotiate with us what we thought he was worth in terms of his commission. He was by far the only realtor who was a person of his word and went the extra mile. The housing market at this point had gone through the roof and it was outrageous what we were able to sell our house for. Timing can be everything.
Now there is something I have quickly garnered about Vancouver Island since arriving three years ago. Realtors here do well, squat. There is rarely an open house on a property particularly if it is not in a major centre like Victoria. The developer is the game out here. That is where they think the money is.
We bought our current home from the previous owner. Lawyers handled everything and everyone was happy.
Realtors can’t rely on the glory of the landscape that is Vancouver Island.
And yes, even my second oldest sibling who is a shrewd money person is selling his own Sask. farm via a very exhaustively information laden website. No surprises about what the buyer is getting.
I think there are three ways to legally rob people, banks, insurance and lawyers. Perhaps it is time to add a fourth…