For Sale By Owner (FSBO) | Home-selling trends 2024

Here’s NAR (National Association Realtors) For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics

FSBOs accounted for 7% of home sales in 2023. The typical FSBO home sold for $310,000 compared to $405,000 with agent assisting sales.

FSBO marketing method used:
- Friends, relatives, or neighbors: 20%
- Yard sign: 19%
- Third party aggregator: 14%
- Social networking websites: n/a
- For-sale-by-owner website: 5%
- Open house: 7%
- Online classified ads: 4%
- Multiple Listing Service (MLS) Website: 5%
- Other website with real estate listings: 1%
- Video hosting websites: 1%
Most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers:
- Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 4%
- Getting the right price: 15%
- Understanding and performing paperwork: 7%
- Selling within the planned length of time: 7%
- Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 4%
- Attracting potential buyers: 4%
- Helping buyers obtain financing: 5%

Despite having to pay commission, sellers who used a real estate agent to sell their home earned a profit of $207,500 — $79,000 more than the $128,500 sellers who did not hire an agent.
About 33% of recent home sellers say the selling process was harder than expected.
Selling FSBO, or for sale by owner (24% of sellers who didn’t use an agent)
Selling to a cash home buyer or investor (23% of sellers who didn’t use an agent)
Selling to an iBuyer (18% of sellers who didn’t use an agent)
Paying for a flat-fee MLS listing (12% of sellers who didn’t use an agent)
Sellers who did not use an agent (47%) are nearly 2x more likely than those who did (25%) to be unhappy about the method they used to sell their home.
In the end, 54% of non-traditional sellers wish they had used a real estate agent.

LESS PROFIT: Even though FSBO sellers saved money on real estate agent fees, they didn’t come out ahead financially.
SLOWER SALE: The survey found that 29% of unrepresented sellers wanted to go through the process independently because they thought that the sale would be much quicker. This may sound surprising, but unless there’s already a buyer in mind, the process of selling your home can actually take longer without an agent.
UNEXPECTED EXPENSES: The survey found that unrepresented sellers were twice as likely to report unexpected expenses than those with an agent. Various selling-related costs, like marketing and staging, are factored into the agent’s commission.
MARKETING DIFFICULTIES: “Sellers today can list their home on sites like Zillow or Facebook Marketplace, but without access to the MLS, you’re seriously limiting the potential exposure to prospective buyers,”
DIFFICULT NEGOTIATION: ..how inspections, repairs, financing and appraisal are negotiation points in most markets. He said, “Not to mention that real estate contracts are complex and vary greatly from state to state. Negotiation tactics also vary from state to state. Skilled agents know contract forms inside and out and they can guide the transition to a smooth close.”