For Sale By Owner (FSBO; IPA pronunciation: ['fɪz,bou]) is a term that describes a piece of real property that has been offered for sale directly by its owner, as opposed to by a real estate broker. In recent years, the term has been used more broadly to describe the process of marketing, buying, and selling of real property without the representation of a real estate broker.
A major motivator of owners to sell via FSBO is to avoid paying a commission to a broker, which is typically 6% of the sale price of the property in many parts of the US (Birger 2005), but can range from 5% to 7% in different markets. In Canada they range between 5% and 7%.[1].
According to a press release by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) about their most current annual survey of real estate consumers: 2005 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers (NAR 2006):
- 13% of 2005 US real estate transactions took place via FSBO (down from 14% in 2004)
- The record percentage of US real estate transactions (since tracking started in 1981) of 20% took place in 1987
References
Birger, Jon. 2005 Feds Probe Real Estate Agents CNN Retrieved 2006-06-18
NAR 2006 Home Buyer & Seller Survey Shows Rising Use of Internet, Reliance on Agents Retrieved 2006-06-19
External links
General Information on FSBO
- Google and Craigslist May Weaken Realtors' Hold on Home Listings The Wall Street Journal - RealEstateJournal.com
- Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Own Home The Wall Street Journal - RealEstateJournal.com
- Flat-Fee Brokers, FSBO Offer Options for Sellers The Wall Street Journal - RealEstateJournal.com
National and International FSBO Service Providers
- 4thishouse.com (2005) Nation's leader in FSBO advertising service
- Byownerdaily (2003) Daily US FSBO Leads Service Provider
- Owners.com (1995) Large US FSBO Service Provider
- BuyOwner.com (1984) Large multimedia US FSBO Service Provider
- For Sale By Owner.com (1997) Large multimedia US FSBO Service Provider
- ByOwner.com (1995) Large US FSBO Service Provider
- HomesByOwner.com
- FSBO3k.com
- PropertySold.ca (2005) Large Canadian FSBO Service Provider
Regional FSBO Service Providers
- FSBO Madison (1998) Serving the greater Madison, Wisconsin, USA area, featured in the New York Times
- FSBO-VT (2006) Serving the State of Vermont, USA
- FSBO Volusia (2006) Serving Volusia County, Florida, USA
- For Sale By Owner Albany (1988) One of the original FSBO sites in the nation, serving greater Albany, NY, USA