The choice to sell your property privately has been a popular alternative for a long time. We understand that people opt to take the private route, and from our experience, the primary reason is to save on REALTOR® commission. Regardless of what your house sells for, we understand paying commission to your real estate professional can feel costly. The truth, however, is that selling your home privately can be even more costly. Real estate professionals and REALTOR.ca provide you with the largest market of buyers looking for their next home. Could there be a cost in not marketing your property to the largest pool of buyers? We would argue, Yes. Still not convinced? Read on.
Selling privately means you are missing out.
REALTOR.ca is the undisputed heavyweight champion of real estate search in Canada, period. Regardless of the goods or assets you are selling, accessing the largest open market more often than not provides you with greater returns. It’s challenging to attain the highest value for your home without tapping into the biggest available pool of buyers. For example, you may sell your house privately and save the REALTOR® commission, but the commission savings doesn’t guarantee that you pocketed the most out of the sale of your home. What if multiple buyers wanted to purchase your property and never knew about it? This could earn you significantly more than you might have saved in commission by selling privately.
Have your cake and eat it too.
Alberta’s real estate market is hot, and prices are rising. From time to time, we have seen sellers save on commission and have it work out in their favour. It is an exception to the rule. This route tends to work best in a balanced market where housing prices are stable and predictable over a while. Realty Unleashed allows you to have your cake and eat it too; you can cancel your listing anytime (before accepting an offer to purchase) while marketing your property to the largest pool of buyers. We often work with sellers to test the market, and if a private buyer option is a best-case scenario, we are happy to accommodate what’s best for our clients.
Navigating the market demands knowledge.
There have been times that the private option has worked out better. That said, our clients have still involved us in the process at a reduced commission rate because real estate transactions require knowledge of contracts, RPR, etc. However, most of our sellers have done better with our free cleaning, free staging, and marketing, even when a private option has been available. You can learn more about our team here.
Points to ponder.
We had a client who received a private offer from their neighbour prior to listing with us, a common enough occurrence. Our client would have been fine to accept, and we were happy to help her sell privately without strings attached. However, our client chose to test the market with us first, and during the first weekend, an offer came in for more money even after the REALTOR® commission. Our client paid full commission and still made $10,000 more than she would have selling privately. Plus, she got her house cleaned and cared for by Realty Unleashed until the buyer took possession. Because she had moved out of the province, our services were incredibly helpful. Our client ended up making more money on her sale with less worries.
If you’re ready to speak with a REALTOR®, feel free to reach out to us! We are ready to help you on your buying to selling journey.
