Sellers with Real Estate Agents Make $79,000 More
New research shows home sellers who used a real estate agent made $79,000 more from their home sales than sellers who did not.
That’s according to a survey by Clever Real Estate, based on the replies of 654 Americans who sold a home in 2023 or 2024—about 36% of whom chose to sell their home without an agent.
Nearly a third of those unrepresented sellers (30%) chose that route to avoid paying real estate commissions, though they generally had more than one reason. Other reasons included:
- “I thought it would be quicker than a traditional sale” (29%)
- “The house was at risk of foreclosure” (29%)
- “My house was in bad condition” (28%)
- “It was convenient” (27%)
- “I prefer to handle showings/negotiations myself” (27%)
Eight in ten sellers who chose not to work with a real estate agent have regrets about their home sale, with more than half (54%) wishing they had used an agent.
Sellers who worked with an agent, despite having to pay the commission, earned an average profit of $207,500, compared to the $128,500 profit for unrepresented sellers—a difference of $79,000.
That’s not the only difference, though.
FSBO sellers’ regrets
For sellers who sold a home without a real estate agent, their disappointment corresponded pretty closely to what they expected to gain from the transaction—as well as how much time and/or money they hoped to save by going the FSBO route.
Speaking of time, 80% of those who sold a home in 2023 or 2024 said selling as quickly as possible was an important priority.
And while selling with an agent clearly has its advantages, it can sometimes take longer to sell a home that way, which, for 29% of unrepresented sellers, is the reason why they chose not to use an agent.
According to Clever’s survey, sellers without an agent are twice as likely as sellers with an agent to sell their home in less than one week.
That said, nearly half of FSBO sellers (48%) believe they would have sold their home faster with an agent. And 47% think they would have sold for more money.
Speaking of money, 49% of FSBO sellers say they wish they’d priced their home differently. Meanwhile, 73% of represented sellers credit their agents with pricing their homes correctly.
That could be due to one or (hopefully) both of the following:
- Their agent used their extensive knowledge of the market to educate their client on what to expect and how to price their home for the best results.
- Their agent masterfully negotiated on their behalf and succeeded in getting the final sale price up to the level desired.
While sellers don’t all approach a home sale with the same mix of hopes and expectations, 84% of those surveyed by Clever consider making the most money possible a top priority, with 50% rating it as “very important.”
Unfortunately, 62% of those who sold a home in 2023 or 2024 say the profit from their home sale wasn’t as large as they’d wanted. Of those 62%, unrepresented sellers are 64% more likely than sellers with agents (31%) to say their home sale profit fell short of their hopes.
Among sellers who sold their homes below the asking price, FSBO sellers ended up having to reduce their prices more. Sellers without agents reported an average price reduction of $67,000, compared to $56,000 among represented sellers—a difference of $11,000.
Given the clear financial benefits of hiring a skilled and dedicated agent, almost half (47%) of the FSBO sellers in the survey believe they would have sold their home for more money if they’d worked with an agent.
Unexpected costs for sellers with vs without an agent
Aside from the money received from a home sale, sellers also expressed frustration over unexpected or underestimated costs. And sellers who did not hire an agent were more than twice as likely to report unexpected costs (27%) compared to represented sellers (13%).
Agents with sellers are less likely to be surprised by costs they had underestimated or hadn’t accounted for in the beginning because their agents either bundled those costs into their services or educated their clients on the extra costs involved. The most common of those expenses included:
- Moving expenses (33%)
- Repairs requested by the buyer after the home inspection (32%)
- Transfer taxes or fees (31%)
- Closing costs (30%)
- Legal fees (30%)
About the only expense unrepresented sellers were especially keen to avoid was the cost of an agent’s commission. But according to Clever’s survey, 80% of unrepresented sellers don’t actually know how much of their final sale price would actually go toward commissions.
So, that explains, at least partly, why 58% of the FSBO sellers surveyed say they would accept an offer $15,000 below their asking price to avoid hiring a real estate agent—even though a typical agent commission on a median-priced home averages only $12,000.
The readiness to accept an offer that much lower than the list price may have something to do with the 53% of unrepresented sellers who felt buyers didn’t trust them due to their lack of an agent.
And that, no doubt, factored into the FSBO seller’s biggest regret: wishing they had received more offers on their home (24%).
Other FSBO regrets included:
- “The buyer got the better end of the deal” (24%)
- “They struggled to time their home sale with their home purchase” (23%)
- “They didn’t wait to list their home until the market was better” (22%)
- “Their house took longer to sell than expected” (22%)
- “They received less than asking price on their home” (21%)
Another huge regret among all sellers was turning down an offer that turned out to be the highest. An agent who communicates their market knowledge and experience is more likely to save sellers the pain of this regret.
Turns out the experience of selling without an agent is enough to make 87% of unrepresented sellers open to hiring an agent for their next home sale, with 51% saying they would hire one within two months of not receiving any reasonable offers without an agent.
Also, 50% of FSBO sellers say the recent NAR settlement and the way it’s changed how agents talk to sellers about buyer agent commission (as something that gives them a competitive advantage rather than something they’re required to do) has made them more likely to consider hiring an agent for their next home sale.
Seller satisfaction is higher among those with an agent
All real estate agents are not the same, which is why it’s important that you find ways to differentiate yourself from the average agent. You want to build a reputation as a real estate professional who goes above and beyond for your clients.
The bare minimum has never really been the bare minimum. People have a right to expect their agent to communicate with them on a weekly basis and keep them informed.
For the most part, though, according to Clever’s survey, 75% of sellers are satisfied with the service rendered by their agent, and 71% would use that same agent again.
In fact, 82% of represented sellers say a good agent is worth every penny of their commission fee, likely because their agent made the process much smoother and less stressful than they expected—or than they experienced with a previous home sale (with or without an agent).
Key Details:
- According to a survey by Clever Real Estate, home sellers who used a real estate agent in 2023 or 2024 made $79,000 more in profit than those who sold without one.
- Additionally, 73% of sellers credit their agent for correctly pricing their home, and represented sellers faced fewer unexpected costs.
Posted by Sarah Lentz | Sep 18, 2024 | Housing Market
https://nowbam.com/sellers-with-real-estate-agents-make-79000-more/
@ChuckBarberini - #ChuckBarberiniRealEstate - @ChuckBarberiniRealEstate
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