National Association of Realtors promotes misleading study stating For Sale by Owner listings sell for less

  KAILUA, HI - 10/10/2017 (PRESS RELEASE JET)

To entice sellers to pay more commission by using a Realtor, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is promoting a misleading study to their 1.2 million Realtor members and the public that For Sale by Owner (FSBO) sell for less.

The problem with this study is they define FSBO as properties that sold which were not listed on the MLS. This is a very narrow definition, because many, if not most FSBOs sold today are listed on the MLS.

If you do not list on the MLS you will get less exposure, and therefore sell for less.

However, there are many flat fee listing options that allow you to sell it yourself while still being listed on the MLS. This is what smart FSBO sellers are doing these days, and this gives them the same MLS exposure as if they used a full commission agent.

In addition, there are different levels of service provided by Brokers at a reduced commission that many sellers take advantage of. In this scenario, sellers do some of the work themselves, but will still have a Realtor represent them during the sale.

For example, Bryn Kaufman, Broker at OahuRE.com in Hawaii, offers FSBO sellers an option to list on the MLS for a flat $250 fee at closing, and the second option for $2,500 where the seller does the open house and showings themselves but is represented by Kaufman who then provides many of the same services as a full commission agent does during the escrow period.

Kaufman says, “None of my FSBO sellers were counted in this study because they all sold their properties by listing it on the MLS, and they did not sell for less. The National Association of Realtors should not be pushing this study when it is clearly flawed. I understand they feel the need to promote Realtor’s services, but using a misleading study is not helping their reputation”.

You can view the study at https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xeybyy3chhias5/CAStudy.pdf?dl=0 and NAR promoting it at http://realtormag.realtor.org/daily-news/2017/08/18/study-fsbos-net-significantly-lower-profits. You can view the OahuRE.com FSBO options at https://www.oahure.com/AssistedSelling.php.

For more information please contact Bryn Kaufman at brynk@oahure.com or 808-254-0787. Bryn Kaufman can also set up an interview with one or more FSBO sellers who feel they have not sold for less and are very satisfied with the process.