FSBO, Day 1

This week’s plan:

Monday:   What is FSBO?  Why FSBO?

Tuesday:   What are they thinking, get into their mindset. Where and how you find FSBOs

Wednesday:   The Dos and the Don’ts

Thursday:   Marketing Action Plans: Value – Customer Service – Net More

Friday:   Scripts and Getting the Appointment

DAY 1

Monday Objective: What is FSBO?  Why FSBO?  FSBO Stats

What is a FSBO?  For Sale By Owner

Why should we even bother with FSBOs?

When you have listings, you get more leads and that equals revenue which allows you to leverage systems and people to help you be more productive. The other reason to have listings? The inventory is low. Normally buyers are quick cash, however in this market, sellers are just as important. Many agents have an entire pool of buyers with nothing to buy, but listing agents can sell their listings within a short time of listing and then move on to the next client. Of course this depends upon the agent ensuring price and condition are in line with the market demand.

The fact is that FSBOs, as a group, are attractive targets for real estate agents and it doesn’t make sense to ignore them. Let’s take a closer look. What do we know about these sellers? It is pretty much the same in all markets, and in all price ranges.

  1. They own a home.
  2. They want to sell it.
  3. In most areas, unless they have it priced below market or have some kind of special financing, they may be successful in selling it on their own but for far less.
  4. 90% of the serious sellers will end up listing with an agent for better exposure.
  5. Don’t forget, even if you don’t sell their house they may need an agent to buy their next house.
  6. Earn their trust and they may have friends or family they can refer to you.
  7. They may have leads that were interested in their home but did not end up writing an offer. These leads could go to you.

Go ahead, read number 4 again.

Do you think that this is a group that we should pay a little more attention to if our goal is to? SAY YES.

Yes, if done right. Yes, if done smart.

  • FSBOs accounted for 8% of home sales in 2020. The typical FSBO home sold for $217,900 compared to $242,300 for agent-assisted home sales.
  • FSBO methods used to market home:
    • Yard sign: 33%
    • Friends, relatives, or neighbors: 21%
    • Online classified advertisements: 10%
    • Open house: 21%
    • For-sale-by-owner websites: 7%
    • Social networking websites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.): 9%
    • Multiple Listing Service (MLS) website: 13%
    • Print newspaper advertisement: 3%
    • Direct mail (flyers, postcards, etc.): 2%
    • Video: 1%
    • None: Did not actively market home: 41%
  • Most difficult tasks for FSBO sellers:
    • Getting the right price: 18%
    • Preparing/fixing up home for sale: 13%
    • Understanding and performing paperwork: 12%
    • Selling within the planned length of time: 3%
    • Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale: 3%
  • 89% of FSBOs list with an agent
  • FSBOs usually list 20% below the market

In a hot seller’s market, it could be hard to get to a seller before they sell their house on their own. You may need to adjust your strategy to bring value and earn the seller’s trust early.

Here’s a fun story about Jesse Buckler, founder of ForSalebyOwner.com, and how he ended up selling his own house.

Action Items:

  1. Search for and study different material that will help you understand the FSBO seller.
  2. Search for local stats on FSBO activity. “20 FSBO Statistics to consider from 2022”
  3. Start thinking about how you would want to be approached if you were a FSBO.

Resources: