How the real estate market is changing to favour FSBO (For Sale By Owner)

Over the last few years the Australian residential and business real estate market have seen a very significant shift, and changes are becoming even more apparent this year. One reason for this is that it is easier than ever for people to sell their homes themselves as "for sale by owner" (FSBO).

Real Estate Sales - Pre Internet

In the "old days" most people who wanted to buy a home would simply go to a real estate agent, located in the area of Australia they were looking to buy a property. They would meet with an agent and tell him or her what sort of home they were looking for, the features they required from the home and the price rnage they were prepared to pay. If the vendor hadn't already arranged finance, the real estate agent would probably try and get them to speak to one of their "preferred" mortgage supppliers .. usually the ones that gave them the highest kick back!

The agent would then search their database to provide a list of properties that met the buyers criteria. Once they had this list of properties they would draw a shortlist of homes they wished to view. The agent would print these out and make arrangements for the buyer to see them. Sometimes they would get into the agent's car but more often than not they would arange to meet the agent at the home. The process of going from house to house would continue until the buyer eventually found something he or she wanted to buy. Then they'd work up a contract offer together. Sometimes this process could be completed in one day (especially if the buyer already had a finance arranged), sometimes it took several days.

Real Estate Sales - Post Internet & For Sale By Owner

As litreally millions of Australian's now have access to the internet at home or at work, many are chosing to do their own computer searches, either through tradional sites like realestate.com or through a specific FSBO site like smartvendor. Alternatively they may use a search engine such as google, sensis or msn to find a traditional or for sale by owner site.

Some will search for a specific countery or area they are interested in buying property in, such as "England + London + homes for sale by owner." or "London + private real estate sales."

Due to the high marketing budgets of the large real estate sites, results tend to turn up both sites with realtors' listings and sites with FSBO homes, even if a specific FSBO term, such as "For sale by owner" or "private real estate" is used.

.If a search finds a realtor listing, the searcher will usually call the agent for more information, often making an appointment to meet the agent, only to be told that the property in question has been sold, but they have many other "desirable" properties in the area. If the search finds a FSBO listings then the searcher will usually call or email the vendor directly or use an intergrated messaging system which sites like smartvendor offer their customers.

Exceptions to the FSBO trend

There will always be eople who prefer to work with an agent, even though they know they will have to pay thousands in commission, or pay more for the home they are looking to buy. This is often true of people who are very busy and earn a very good living. These people often think it better to pay someone else to do the "dirty work" for them, often not realisng quite how much it will cost them. In many cases they may actually be better off financially, taking a month of work to sell their home, even if they are earning $300,000 p.a.

Another group often seen as being excluded from the "for sale by owner" market are older people, or seniors, who have lived in their homes a long time. These people often think they could not cope with the work involved in FSBO or they expect an old fashioned real estate service from agents, often they are disappointed! In truth, older people may be best positioned to sell their own homes, as they often have more time available, greater local knowledge of the area which they can pass on to prospective buyers.

Still, even with these exceptions, more and more people are doing their own initial internet searches for property, and more and more often these searches tend to turn up FSBOs as well as Realtors' listings. Indeed many people are actually doing searches specifically designed to seek out FSBO listings such as "private property sales" and "no agent properties" .

The New Tilt towards Private Sales

Given the easy access to the internet and the uptake of fast broadband services, It is quite obvious why so manyward buyers' doing their own initial internet searches for property. It is also obvious why this works in favor of FSBO sellers. The propensity for some buyers to include "FSBO" in their search criteria tilts things even further in favor of owners who are selling their own properties.

These seemingly simple changes have completely restructured the way the Australian residential and business real estate market works.

Think you could like the sound of For Sale By Owner? Why not visit our FSBO (for sale by owner) site and see just how easy it is to sell your own home?