So, you want to sell your home? FABULOUS!  What was that? You wanna  what? Sell it on your own?   No real estate agent? Ohhhhhh-kay.

Uhhhh…I think it may be safe to say that it may be easier to climb Mt. Everest than to sell your home on your own today. Over 4000 people attempted to climb the tallest mountain in the world, about 660 have successfully completed it, and about 142 lives were lost in the attempt.

While I don’t believe any one of us will lose our life trying to sell our own home, I do believe most of us would fall into that vast majority of folks who never make it.

Now, hear this loud and clear. YES, I am a Realtor® and it would behoove me to tell you to list your home with a real estate professional .Of course I would say that. Otherwise, I would not believe in my profession.  And YES, I really do think you would be best served to list your property with a Realtor®, but last time I looked, this is a free country and you can do what you like.

We have choices – when we buy a new car, we can sell our old car privately or opt to do a trade-in. When tax season is upon us, we can turn to a professional or do it ourselves. Perhaps, these would be better models if the car was a Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG Black Series (valued at $301,000) or you were paying taxes based on an income of $1 million.

I will tell you, though, as a real estate professional who has been intimately involved in this market, all I can say is good luck. And I don’t mean that in a sarcastic or demeaning way. To say that this is not a Seller’s Market is an understatement. Sure it is a Buyer’s Market due to the low prices, high volume of properties and low interest rates, but that has its pitfalls given the challenges today in the financing arena. No matter how you market your property, that is, with or without a Realtor®), both the ascent to and descent from Mt. Everest may prove to be a challenge.

I would NEVER tell you that you cannot sell your home. Heck, you know more about your property and your immediate neighborhood than any professional does!  So, it really irks me when I hear fellow real estate professional tell Sellers that they will never sell their homes on their own. That is simply not true. What is true is that a real estate professional has the means to MARKET your property better than the average Joe. Not unlike the Mt. Everest analogy, we have the proper equipment and we have a time tested road map. And not unlike the Mt. Everest analogy, if you want a guide to accompany you on the trip, there will be a charge for those services.

Marketing may increase your opportunity for more money in less time.

Before I share some stats with you, let me just get this out of the way…..

Figures don’t lie, but liars figure (Sam Clemens a/k/a Mark Twain)

There are three kinds of lies – lies, damned lies and statistics (B. Disraeli)

Now that we got that out of the way (because believe me when I tell you that I am as skeptical as the next when it comes to stats), let me share some numbers with you…..

Information sources used in home search (according to NAR in 2008):

Internet – 87%

Real Estate Agent – 85%

Yard Sign – 62%

Open House – 48%

Newspaper Ad – 47%

Home Book or Magazine – 30%

Because this data is 2 years old, my guess is that today the internet number may be a bit higher and the newspaper and magazine numbers may be a bit lower.

So, no matter what side of the proverbial fence you are on, it is clear that the internet plays a powerful role in home sales today. No surprise there.

And with a stat of 85% for real estate agents as a source for home search, a prospective Seller may want to take pause there as well.

Our industry refers to those who have the guts to try to sell their own property as For Sale By Owners. We even give them a nickname – FSBOs (pronounced fizz – boze).

FSBOs accounted for 13% of home sales in 2008. Again, this stat is outdated. My guess, just based on the huge number of foreclosures today, is that number might be a wee bit lower, but the 13% statistic has remained constant over the last several years.

The typical FSBO home sold for $153,000 compared to $211,000 for agent-assisted home sales. Again, NAR (National Association of Realtors®) compiled this information.

Some of the more difficult tasks for FSBOs includes selling their home within the desired time frame, getting the desired price, preparing their home for market, understanding and generating the correct paperwork, and having the time to perform daily tasks (such as home showings, preparing for home inspections, etc).

Homes For Sale By Owner in Gainesville, Florida – Part 2 addresses things you might want to consider when selling your home on your own.

Click here for Homes For Sale By Owner in Gainesville, Florida – Part 3.