One of our most recent entry only MLS listings is a Brookline flat fee MLS rental listing. There are currently 36 rental listings available in Brookline Massachusetts, but only 1 of those is an entry only MLS rental listing.

Brookline MA Flat Fee MLS Rental Listings

6 Meadowbrook Road Brookline, MA 02467 (MLS ID 71467351) was listed for rent on December 31, 2012 using our flat fee MLS entry only listing platform. The landlord paid a one-time flat fee to get their property into the MLS, and with the MLS being syndicated to thousands of websites, in front of thousands searching the web for their next Brookline rental property. The property went Under Agreement just 6 days later.

Real estate commissions for rental transactions oftentimes end up totaling one month’s rent, typically split 50/50 between the broker listing the property for rent and the agent who brings the renter to the table. In the case of 6 Meadowbrook Road, the property was listed for rent at $3,850 per month. If the landlord would have listed their Brookline rental property in the MLS using a traditional brokerage model, they would have paid a total of $3,850 in real estate commissions. With the landlord leveraging EntryOnlyNewEngland.com, a one-time flat fee was paid to list the property for rent in the MLS, and instead of paying $3,850 in real estate commissions, the landlord paid $2,220 in total (a $295 one-time flat fee to list the property, and $1,925 to the agent bringing the renter to the transaction). That’s a savings of approximately 42% by simply using our flat fee MLS platform, which is 100% online – you can list your property for sale or rent entirely online in approximately 20 minutes!

Massachusetts Entry Only MLS Rental Listings

There are currently a total of 49 Massachusetts rental listings in the MLS that were listed for rent using an entry only MLS model – against a current total of 3,270 MLS rental listings in the state of Massachusetts, only 1.5% of the landlords in the Massachusetts market are leveraging a flat fee MLS entry only model.

In looking at the savings the landlord of 6 Meadowbrook Road, a Brookline rental property, enjoyed by using an entry only MLS model, it’s clear there is ample opportunity for other Massachusetts landlords.

In Marblehead Massachusetts, there are currently 135 single-family resale and new homes listed for sale.

With a median sales price at $427,500, based on 71 home sales between August and October of 2012, the number of home sales increased 9.2% compared to last year.

All current indicators signal the Marblehead MA real estate market improving, as buyers are ready to make home purchases again. For homeowners who have been on the fence about listing and selling their property, 2013 may be the year, and a flat fee MLS real estate model, which is gaining popularity in Massachusetts, can save a seller thousands of dollars in real estate agent commission.

Listing Homes For Sale by Owner in Marblehead MA

As we wrap up 2012 and begin anew in 2013, interest rates remain at record lows and buyers want to take advantage of these rates before they increase. The improving job market coupled with low rates are encouraging buyers to enter into the real estate market and sellers are ready, though still cautious, perhaps stung by the costly roller coaster ride the real estate market has provided since 2007.

Let’s take, for example, a home in Marblehead MA that sold near the end of 2012. A popular Cape Cod style home located in an excellent neighborhood was listed and sold for its asking price at $570,000 in less than one month. Assuming the commission to the real estate firm was six percent (6%), the fees associated with the real estate commissions for this home, all of which are paid by the seller, would total $34,200. This sum is taken directly out of the seller’s equity. Therefore, the commission for the seller’s agent (sometimes called a listing broker) would be approximately $17,100 with the other half going to the buyer’s agent – the total real estate commission is typically set by the seller’s agent when a home is listed for sale, with the total often being split amongst the two brokers in the transaction.

A six percent commission is not only costly, but perhaps unnecessary as well. Why? Over 80 percent of the homes sold today are sold via the Internet, and to get online exposure as a Marblehead MA homeseller, your property simply needs to be in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is the database that all real estate brokers and agents use to enter their listings, and from that single source, the listing data is syndicated to hundreds of websites across the Internet. You still need a licensed real estate agent to list your property on the MLS, however, sellers are now leveraging entry only listings for a flat fee. An entry only listing gets a property onto the MLS, via a licensed broker, for a one-time flat fee.

Marblehead Flat Fee MLS Savings

Let’s say you were the owner of the above property that recently sold. Your listing agent, in less than one month, would have made approximately $17,000, and you would have paid an additional $17,000 to the agent that represented the buyer of your home. If you used a flat fee MLS listing service, you would get to keep that first $17,000, and if the buyer of your property did not have a real estate agent, the entire amount of $34,200 would be added to your profits.

How do Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Listings Work?

The Internet has been a huge game changer in the real estate industry over the past several years. When selling your home, it is mandatory that your property is exposed to your target buyers. With over 80 percent of buyers looking for homes over the Internet today, it is imperative that your home is included in the MLS (and the many websites to which the MLS syndicates), which is the de-facto source from which people look for homes. The MLS is a database where agents find properties for their clients. Once your home is available on the MLS, it is also included on other popular real estate sites, such as Realtor.com and Homes.com among other high traffic websites that allows everyone to search the MLS listings. While anyone can browse the MLS listings on these popular websites, only a professional real estate agency or company can place a listing on the MLS.

At Entry Only New England, a flat fee service, your Marblehead Massachusetts property would be listed on the MLS along with your photos by paying a low, one time fee. Your home will look like every other home on the MLS, where owners were charged oftentimes up to 6% in total real estate commissions, and buyers and agents will work with you directly to schedule showings and submit offers. The primary job of a flat fee real estate service is to maintain your online listing and make the necessary changes should you require any updates. Entry Only New England does all of this entirely online, with no printing, scanning, faxing, or mailing of forms – many Entry Only New England clients complete the listing of their home for sale or rent in less than 20 minutes.

Today, homeowners have choices when they decide to put their home on the market for sale. Most sellers don’t want to give up a substantial percentage of their profit in real estate commissions to list their home for sale. Particularly when there are options that can provide sellers with thousands of dollars left in their pockets.

Currently, there are six sellers in Marblehead who have listed their home for sale using this flat fee entry only MLS listing model. By avoiding traditional methods, where a real estate agent sells a property, more and more homeowners understand that the Internet sells a home. To compensate a real estate agent by as much as two to three percent of the final selling price is a fee that many homesellers are not willing to pay in today’s ever changing real estate market.

With home sales increasing in Marblehead today, entry only MLS listings give your property the exposure it needs while saving you thousands of dollars in real estate commissions.

With the exception of Boston, North Andover currently has the highest number of flat fee MLS condo listings in the state of Massachusetts. Based on the recent encouraging sales reports for condo owners here, it’s easy to see why entry only MLS listings are gaining popularity and are the standard used by for sale by owners (FSBO) in North Andover.

Flat Fee MLS North Andover Condo Sales

The good news for northeast Massachusetts’s condo owners this month is pending condo sales were up roughly 43.5 percent compared to this time last year. What makes these numbers even more impressive is they are comparable with May and June, traditionally the months with the most home sale activity. While pending sales don’t necessarily mean a home will close, it does show that the Massachusetts real estate market is enjoying some of the best sales it has seen in years. This year, 114 condo units have currently sold in North Andover. And for those owners who are considering selling, using a flat fee MLS listing will guarantee them thousands more dollars in their pocket at the closing table.

North Andover For Sale by Owner (FSBO)

With today’s uncertain economic climate, this recent housing report shows the real estate market is, for the moment, slowly improving and condo owners are feeling more comfortable selling a property themselves with a for sale by owner (FSBO) approach than ever before, with the maximum exposure of a North Andover MLS flat fee listing. Without paying the high fees or commissions associated with listing your North Andover condo for sale using a traditional real estate brokerage, a For Sale By Owner MLS listing provides profits that go right back into the seller’s hands.

When signing up with Entry Only New England to list a condo for sale using a flat fee entry only MLS listing, a seller’s home is added to the official MLS, which is used by real estate agents and brokers from all across Massachusetts to access available properties. Because 90 percent of buyers use the Internet when looking for a home to buy, getting in the MLS is the most important step in getting your North Andover condo to sell. Once on the MLS, the property will also be included in websites such as Realtor.com, Remax.com and other websites that display MLS listings via a large syndication of information across the web.

Flat fee real estate is especially attractive to those who want to control their home sale, but realize that without a listing on the MLS, their condo will have little to no exposure. Quite simply, if a home is not on the MLS, there are little to no buyers that even know the property is for sale since the property is not listed where buyers and real estate agents look for homes. For those Massachusetts For Sale by Owners who simply try to sell on their own without listing on the MLS, a condo will likely sit on the market for many months. And let’s think about that for a moment: When a property sits without any showings and certainly no offers, several negative consequences can occur as buyers will conclude, whether correctly or incorrectly:

• The condo is overpriced: Whether your North Andover condo is overpriced or not, buyers will assume that if it is still on the market after several months, it’s not selling because the price is too high. Finally, to draw interest into your property, you may need to slash the price, when really, all your property was lacking was the appropriate exposure.
• The condition of the condo is unappealing: Again, a property that has a “For Sale” sign in the front yard for several months will tell buyers and agents that the home must need repairs or the physical condition is poor if it has not attracted a buyer. Again, your condo may be model home perfect, yet if a buyer is not seeing pictures of your home on the MLS, they have no reason to make an appointment or schedule a showing to view your home.
• Difficult to show: The more a home is shown, the quicker it sells. And the quicker the sale, chances are, the higher the price. Showings will happen if your North Andover condo is properly marketed and profiled and the MLS is the first step in exposing your property to your target audience.

Probably the most difficult repercussion of a condo sitting on the market, of course is the expense. Sellers are still making mortgage, utility and insurance payments as well as paying Homeowner’s Association (HOA) Fees the months a property doesn’t sell.

North Andover Flat Fee MLS Listing Service

In North Andover, there are currently six condos that are listed for sale using our MLS flat fee listing model. While the majority of condos in North Andover are still sold via traditional methods, the popularity of Massachusetts For Sale by Owner MLS is growing for the simple reason that most homeowners can sell a property themselves as long as they have the proper MLS exposure.

So as a North Andover property owner, who is considering putting their condo on the market, what would you do with the thousands of extra dollars if you listed and sold your home with Entry Only Massachusetts flat fee MLS?