October 31, 2005 – 7:28 pm
How selling with flat fee MLS listing brokers can save home sellers thousands.
Home owners looking to save on real estate sales fees may consider Flat Fee MLS listing as an alternative to paying an agent a real estate commission of 5% or more. Unlike traditional real estate brokerage, Flat Fee MLS allows home sellers the option to sell on their own without paying a commission.
Called "Flat Fee" MLS because home sellers are able to place their homes in the same Mutliple Listing Service used by real estate agents and brokers for a one-time fee rather than paying a percentage of the sales price. The MLS is a database of homes for sale that is used by Realtor members who cooperate to sell each other’s home listings.
Because of the rise in home prices, many home owners are looking for alternatives to paying commissions that can easily equal more than the equity in a home. For a fee of somewhere between $300.00 to $1,000.00, home sellers list their home with a flat fee broker.
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October 14, 2005 – 1:13 pm
Brokers offering Consumers Choices Face Increasing Battles within the Industry
Many real estate brokers around the country now offer their customers more choices in the services they receive and the the prices they pay when selling their home. As the number of Fee for Service brokers have increased so too has the level of resistence from the traditional side of the industry.
The fight against these emerging business models can be seen in states where new regulations have been passed requiring minimum service levels to local boards imposing new restrictions on "Limited Service" MLS Listings to individual brokers and agents refusing to show what they percieve to be "For Sale by Owner" Listings.
As the battles intensify, the one party that seems to receive the least attention is the Consumer. It would seem obvious that just as no two properties are alike, consumers also possess different charachteristics in terms of their sophistication, experience and ability. Flat Fee listings and other fee-for-service offerings are not for everyone. However, many sellers and buyers do not need, or want, to pay large commissions for services they are more than capable of handling themselves.
Now the US Department of Justice has joined the fight. Many of the practices described above appear to conflict with the basic tenets of the marketplace. Indeed many are seen by the DOJ to vioIate AntiTrust provisions. It is clear that the real estate industry must adapt to meet the changing needs and demands of the market. There will simply be no other choice.
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