More and More Home Sellers are Flocking to the MLS

Posted by admin on October 31st, 2006

Flat fee services like IHS Realty are saving the day

Flat fee MLS services like IHS Realty are growing more and more popular with home sellers. With prices getting lower all around the country and buyers taking control of the market, home sellers have no recourse but to slash their costs. The best way to do that is to cut out the real estate agent commission. That’s why many home sellers are now listing their homes themselves on the MLS, where 75% of all home buyers go to make their purchases. With so many home buyers making the move to the multiplie listing service, it’s no wonder this alternative is attractive to home sellers.

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More Buyers Are Going Online First

Posted by admin on October 30th, 2006

That’s a great opportunity for home sellers

Buyers like the Filadelfias, as well as sellers, are increasingly accessing information on real estate Web sites to become better educated about the housing market and to gain more control over the buying and selling process.

A National Association of Realtors survey reported that 77 percent of homebuyers used the Internet to search for a home in 2005, compared to only 2 percent of buyers a decade earlier. Twenty-four percent of homebuyers said they found their home through an Internet search, up from 15 percent in 2004, the association reported. Only 2 percent found their home this way in 1997.

The beautiful thing about these statistics is that home sellers can now use the same tools that real estate agents used to have exclusive access to. It’s true. If you want to sell your house yourself, you can use the multiple listing service and cut your agent out of the picture altogether.

Buyers are going online to research the real estate market in your area long before they ever contact a real estate agent. That means, they have a handle on what’s available before they commission an agent to negotiate a fair price. That’s money in the seller’s pocket. You can negotiate the buyer’s agent commission down to 1%-1.5% based on whether or not the buyer of your property found your house or the agent did. Furthermore, if you sell your house without the assistance of a seller’s agent, you can save thousands of dollars on commissions.

Flat fee real estate services are the way to go. Don’t miss out.

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What Is The MLS Exactly?

Posted by admin on October 29th, 2006

Is it digital advertising or an industry tool?

The answer to the question really depends on your location. If the question was asked in the USA, I think 99% of realtors would respond ‘industry tool’. Ask the question in Europe and the answer would be reversed with 99% of estate agents referring to MLS as digital advertising.

So what makes this technology be seen by the same industry, in two large geographical markets, in two totally different ways?

Since we’re not in Europe, IHS Realty isn’t much concerned with how our friends on the other side of the Atlantic use the MLS. We’re very concerned with how our friends in the real estate industry in the U.S. use it. We’re excited about the future because we know common FSBO sellers can use the MLS in the same manner that real estate agents have been using it for years. It may be an industry tool, but many real estate investors and one-time for-sale-by-owners may use it as an advertising tool. Either way is OK. The advantage to home owners who want to sell on their own is that can list their property on the MLS for one low fee and save thousands of dollars in real estate commissions. That’s the same no matter which side of the water you live on.

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More and More People Are Turning To The Internet

Posted by admin on October 28th, 2006

Soon, more people will search for real estate online and leave newspapers in the dust

PRINCETON, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — New research by The Kelsey Group indicates a gap between the sources to which home buyers turn to get information about real estate and the media that advertisers use to promote property for sale. Sellers turn first to newspapers (24%), followed by signs (19%) to advertise real estate for sale, while buyers turn equally to newspapers (30%) and online (30%). And the younger generation, which is the most active real estate-buying age group (18- to 34-year-olds), turns to online sources first.

Why do you think so many companies are going online today? It isn’t for current value. It’s for future value. In another few years, Internet advertising will be the most popular medium for virtually every product or service. Already, the trend is online for buying real estate. The National Association of Realtors says 75% of all home buyers search for their home online first, before going anywhere else.

Combine online buying and selling with flat fee MLS services, a service that allows home sellers the same access to buyers as real estate agents - even if they are selling on their own - then you have a powerful combination. Find out why flat fee services are the best way to go for FSBO sellers.

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They’ve Learned About Flat Fee Services in the UK

Posted by admin on October 27th, 2006

It’s the same there as it is here

Realtors are all a buzz about this new form of listing houses on the MLS (multiple listing service). Some feel it creates more work for the buyers agent, while others see this as a way to tap into the For Sale By Owner market.

Even in the UK, they’re talking about flat fee services like IHS Realty. The principle is the same there as it is here. The seller contracts with an online flat fee service, pays one low fee, lists his or her house on the MLS, and buyers and buyers’ agents call for appointments.

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One Canadian Woman Assists FSBO Sellers Sell Their Homes

Posted by admin on October 26th, 2006

FSBO sellers can save a bundle doing it themselves

Lorraine Brownrigg says she has helped homeowners sell more than 3,000 properties in and around Ottawa in the past three years. It’s anyone’s guess how much she has saved them in real estate commissions, but it’s probably many millions of dollars.

Lorraine Brownrigg knows what thousands of FSBO sellers and home owners are learning every day. Selling your house yourself has some pros and cons, but it’s mostly pros. You get to save yourself thousands of dollars in real estate commissions and you are in control of the process every step of the way.

While there are pros and cons to doing it yourself, if you can manage to get on the MLS, that’s even better. IHS Realty offers FSBO sellers the opportunity to get on the MLS, which is not possible without going through a broker first, for a low flat fee.

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