ENTRY ONLY NEW ENGLAND

Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Entry Only Listings

Predatory Realtors Pester FSBOs for MLS Listings

Did you know there are actually real estate coaches who sell scripts to real estate agents that teach what to say to a FSBO in order to convert them from a FSBO to a full commission listing of their own?

Kevin Ward of YESMasters and Bob Loeffler at Fearless Agent are popular.

If you’re trying to sell your own home, regardless of whether you’ve been able to list that home in the MLS or not, more than likely, you’ve received a call from a real estate agent who will eventually get around to asking you these questions:

  • Can I preview your property?
  • How are you marketing your property?
  • Can I ask when you sell this house, where are you moving?

The classic, but unfortunate, approach for a real estate agent to take is to create the illusion they have a buyer interested in your home as a guise to preview the property, only to give you a listing presentation once they get there.

That’s called a bait and switch, its legality is questionable, and is predatory real estate behavior at best.

It’s nice to see that Kevin Ward has the integrity to not guide his students down the road of bait and switch practices. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with everyone.

Invariably, once the agent has made their way inside your home, they’ll purport that if you just re-list with them they’ll be able to sell your property faster and for substantially more money.

If you go behind the scenes on one of these calls (click the YouTube video below to listen to one of these very calls) that real estate agents make to FSBOs, does it look like everything is above board?

Predatory Realtors Pester FSBOs for MLS Listings

The reality is that if you decide to sell FSBO, you need to be prepared to deal with predatory Realtors who aren’t interested in bringing a buyer of their own to buy your property, but rather, convincing you that you should re-list your home with them for a full commission.

FSBO Burner Phone Numbers & Disposable Email Addresses for FSBOs

One practical way to combat predatory Realtors, while at the same time qualifying buyers and their agents, is to use a set of temporary contact credentials (phone number and email address). Sometimes referred to as a “burner” contact information, you can build real efficiency, professionalism, and marketing power into your home selling process by using free Google Voice and Gmail tools. These tools will be used only for a temporary period of time, yet will protect your privacy, allow you to avoid exposing your personal contact information on the Internet, and, allow you to perform marketing, filtering, and qualifying activity all in one.

Walpole Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS

Walpole Massachusetts, located just 13 miles southwest of downtown Boston, is experiencing growth in home sales. Walpole property values have increased 7% in just the past year alone.

Today, owners who are seriously considering selling their own home are investigating ways to increase their profit and reduce time on market.

In Walpole, recent sales trends of single family homes indicate that it’s a great time for sellers to list their home for sale. It’s taking less time to sell than previous years. In August and September 2014, Walpole single family homes on average spent approximately 58 days on the market before selling, whereas during the same time period last year, it took on average approximately 63 days.  Walpole homes are selling faster in 2014 than they were in 2013.

Walpole MA on Map

Walpole Entry Only MLS Listings

Four of the current 86 Walpole single family homes listed for sale are entry only MLS listings, otherwise known as flat fee MLS listings. Entry only MLS listings give a seller control of their real estate transaction, from price to commission, while at the very same time giving their property much needed exposure via the multiple listing service (MLS).

Quite simply, if your home is not listed on the MLS, then you’re missing nearly the entire market.  Real estate agents and homebuyers alike begin their search on both the MLS and real estate websites across the Internet.  Those popular real estate websites are largely powered by data from MLS.

The MLS is an exclusive online database, inherently controlled by licensed Realtors, and it wasn’t long ago when the MLS and the entire real estate market did not do a great job of accommodating sellers who wanted to sell their own home as a for sale by owner or FSBO. Historically, without access to the MLS, FSBOs couldn’t garner the necessary exposure in the market homes need to solicit offers.

For a Walpole, MA home seller, selling a home FSBO without having it listed on the MLS is much like throwing a party, yet not sending invitations. The MLS is the ultimate source for the most popular real estate websites such as Realtor.com, Homes.com, Zillow, and Trulia.

Since nearly 100% of buyers search the Internet when looking for a home, you can see why exposure on the MLS is important.

List FSBO on the MLS in Walpole Massachusetts

Currently, there are 86 single family homes listed on the MLS for sale in Walpole.

Let’s take an example of one home currently for sale at $520,000. What if this home sells for $520,000, how much will that seller pay in real estate agent commission if they list their home with a traditional Realtor charging a full commission, and separately, what will that seller pay in commission should they use a Massachusetts flat fee MLS realty service?

Our example $520,000 custom built saltbox, in a popular neighborhood, will see its owner pay $26,000 in real estate agent commission if a Realtor charges 5%, an amount that would be divided between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. That commission money comes directly out of the seller’s equity, or basically, his or her own pocket.

Now imagine this same Walpole single family home is listed on the MLS FSBO with Entry Only New England, a Massachusetts flat fee MLS realty provider. A seller would save $12,705 in real estate agent commission, only having to pay a buyer’s agent commission if a buyer’s agent brought a buyer to the table (if the seller finds their own buyer, unrepresented by a buyer’s agent, the seller pays no real estate commission whatsoever!).

Walpole MA Saltbox Home

For homeowners, the savings in commission is too big to ignore, and coupled with the growing strength of the real estate market in Massachusetts, that’s why flat fee MLS listings have been growing in popularity.

Savings in real estate agent commission can be used towards the down payment of another home, 529 college tuition plans, or even retirement.

The FSBO enabled MLS allows for sale by owners to keep the majority of a home’s profit from sale while garnering the same MLS and web exposure as if hiring a Realtor to list at full commission. It’s easy to see why flat fee MLS services are gaining in popularity with more than 550 entry only MLS listings across Massachusetts having already sold in 2014 alone.

Walpole Flat Fee MLS Realty Service

Flat fee MLS services were developed because the real estate industry is changing.

Imagine the era of air travel when only transacted through a travel agent who invariably takes a cut of the deal, and for many, unnecessarily bloats the cost of flying.

Today, with online “travel agencies”, millions of passengers each year book their tickets saving themselves hundreds of dollars.

Much like these services, consumers want the control to sell their most valuable asset, their home, on their own without a Realtor and having to hand over a traditional five or six percent commission to a real estate agent whose role has no doubt changed and shifted given technology.

Technology has fundamentally changed the value of a traditional real estate broker. While the MLS itself has not become any less powerful, if anything, it’s continued to grow in importance, it’s the access to the MLS by FSBOs as well as technology advancements that have democratized real estate transactions in general.

In Walpole today, sellers are optimistic about 2014 home sales, and continued growth into 2015. With excellent schools, low crime and an unemployment rate lower than the national average, home values are up 7% year to year.

If you’re considering selling your home, it will be well worth your time to learn more about flat fee MLS real estate and what it can do for your bottom line. Sellers are asking themselves why they should give away thousands of dollars in real estate agent commission now that the future of real estate has arrived.

What’s the Zillow & Trulia Merger Mean to FSBOs?

July 28, 2014 was a watershed day in the real estate industry.

It was the day news hit the market that the two most popular real estate websites on the planet, Zillow and Trulia, announced they would merge via an acquisition of Trulia by Zillow.

Zillow and Trulia expect the acquisition to close in 2015.

Zillow Trulia Merger FSBO

Zillow stated on their website via a blog post that they expect to maintain both the Zillow and Trulia consumer brands given that both sites have large and loyal consumer followings with limited overlap.

On that very same day, Pete Flint, Trulia’s current CEO, sent an email to Trulia users in which he outlined Trulia and Zillow will continue to operate as separate and distinct brands even once the transaction closes.

Does It Matter to FSBOs That Zillow and Trulia Will Merge?

Not really, at least in the short term.

There’s commitment at the highest levels from both Zillow and Trulia that the two real estate websites will continue to operate as they do today, separate yet similar platforms.

With any merger like this, where two seemingly competitive firms desire to merge, the federal government will evaluate the merger deal largely on antitrust grounds. The way in which the Zillow and Trulia merger deal is contractually constructed, Trulia cannot make material changes to their business model during the merger evaluation period.

That said, FSBOs won’t see Trulia change until after the merger is approved by federal regulators.

So, what about longer term?

A classic business case analysis would yield that combining the two real estate website powerhouses would consolidate the online real estate listings market, but it’s really more about saving the eventual combined company millions in operating cost.

Those savings through efficiencies won’t be achieved for some time to come.

Realistically, Zillow and Trulia, from a systems and platform perspective, will continue to operate in silos for what will be years to come. Slowly, the two websites will begin to consolidate their respective systems and applications into single shared instances on the backend yet still continue to go to market under their separate and distinct brands.

Such underlying technology moves at large corporate entities are multi-month and multi-million dollar migration projects which don’t happen or pivot on a dime.

FSBOs will continue to enjoy the syndication of their flat fee MLS listings on both Zillow and Trulia as separate web entities for the foreseeable future, and when the merged company begins to slowly consolidate backend systems, FSBOs will continue to enjoy the same syndication reach but in and through websites that are operating more efficiently and who have more cash to spend to attract more buyer eyeballs.

In the short and long term, the ZIllow and Trulia merger is good for FSBOs who want to list on the MLS without a Realtor and have their property syndicated to the most popular real estate websites.

FSBOs Save $13,777 in Agent Commission with Flat Fee MLS

More than 400 for sale by owners (FSBO) in Massachusetts have listed and sold their single family home or condominium in the first half of 2014 using a flat fee MLS entry only listing.

Savvy homeowners are leveraging the power of the Internet enabled MLS to drive broad exposure for their homes in the marketplace by listing on the MLS without a real estate agent, and are reaping the benefits in the form of significant savings in real estate agent commission paid to sell a home.

While many homeowners still choose to list their home with a full commission traditional real estate agent, there is a growing number of homeowners who have raised their hand to say that technology can make the home selling process more efficient and effective. Those are the FSBOs who leverage flat fee MLS realty services, and in 2014, that group of FSBOs in Massachusetts has saved a considerable amount in real estate broker commission on each and every home sale.

For sale by owner clients at Entry Only New England who have sold their home in 2014 have saved an average of $13,777 in real estate agent commission using flat fee MLS entry only listings. You too can list on the MLS without a Realtor and save big on agent commissions and fees.

Most Popular Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Cities

It’s not terribly surprising that Boston, as a progressive technologically advanced hub, has embraced entry only MLS listings as a means to list on the MLS without a Realtor and ultimately realize more profit when selling a home by eliminating at least half of real estate agent commission.

However, you may be surprised by some of the other cities across Massachusetts where flat fee MLS has become increasingly popular, Massachusetts cities like Westfield, Springfield, Danvers, and East Longmeadow.

  • Westfield Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Listings – there are currently 196 single family home and condominium listings for sale in Westfield, and 6 of those are flat fee MLS listings. According to the past 6 months of Massachusetts MLS data, single family homes in Westfield listed and sold as entry only MLS listings closed for 10% more in price and 4 times faster than single family homes listed by traditional real estate agents charging a full commission.
  • Springfield Massachusetts Entry Only MLS Listings – of the 207 single family and condominiums currently listed for sale in Springfield, 7 of them are entry only MLS listings. Over the past 6 months, Springfield flat fee MLS listings sold for 14% more than traditional full commission listings from Realtors, but, took 1.4 times longer to sell.
  • Danvers Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Listings – with only 76 single family homes and condominiums currently for sale in Danvers, and 6 of those being entry only MLS listings, Danvers has a high predominance of flat fee MLS listings at approximately 8% of the market. It’s not surprising why flat fee MLS in Danvers is so popular, over the past 6 months, single family homes that sold with an entry only MLS listing sold for 42% more and  almost twice as fast as full commission listings from traditional brokerages that charge hefty commissions.
  • East Longmeadow Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Listings – one of the highest concentrations of flat fee MLS listings in Massachusetts is in the city of East Longmeadow. There are currently 11 flat fee MLS listings in East Longmeadow out of a total of 134 single family homes and condominiums for sale – more than 8% of listings are entry only MLS listings in East Longmeadow, nearly four times the state average. Sellers who have listed for sale by owner in Longmeadow MA over the past six months have sold for 16% more than their traditional full commission broker listing peers, yet have taken approximately twice as long to sell.

List on Boston MLS For Sale by Owner (FSBO)

If you’ve made it this far in the article, it means that you’re serious about selling without a Realtor, that you’re interested in taking advantage of technology to drive exposure for your property, and ultimately, that you don’t want to pay a significant amount of real estate agent commission to a broker.

The bottom line is that to give your for sale by owner the best chance possible, you need the exposure of the MLS. A flat fee MLS entry only listing service will get your home listed on the MLS without a Realtor, the same MLS that agents and brokers use.  Once listed on the MLS, your home will be syndicated to hundreds of websites, including all of the most popular ones that you already visit, like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com.

Nearly 100% of buyers start their home search online, and with the exposure that a flat fee MLS listing provides, your home will be front and center in the eyes of buyers.

Entry Only New England is the first and only all digital Massachusetts flat fee MLS realty service, we make listing on the MLS easy, and have the most professional MLS communication process in the business. We’d love to be a part of your next home sale!

Springfield MA Flat Fee MLS Real Estate

Wow, Springfield Massachusetts has enjoyed a 20% increase in home prices year over year. Despite the double digit growth, Springfield still continues to offer affordable homes with over 450 single-family homes on the market for sale right now, with an average listing price of just over $143,000.

With buyers today looking for good bargains in housing, Springfield is a natural choice. As the most populous city in western New England with over 150,000 residents, and with a real estate economy that is clearly improving, Springfield for sale by owners (FSBO) are taking advantage of increased profits in their homes by using flat fee MLS to sell their own home without a Realtor.

A flat fee MLS entry only listing service allows a homeowner to list their home on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for an affordable flat fee. That listing is syndicated to the most popular real estate websites, and when the home sells, the homeowner saves thousands of dollars in real estate agent commissions.

Springfield Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS FSBO Example

Take for example 40 Delmore Street Springfield, MA 01109, a 1,176 square foot three bedroom one bathroom home listed for sale by owner using an entry only MLS listing. With a list price of $149,800, the seller is poised to save $3,450 in real estate agent commission just by leveraging a flat fee MLS realty service.

Flat fee MLS is gaining in popularity, especially in Springfield, as the real estate market evolves. The majority of homes today are promoted and sold through the Internet as nearly 100% of buyers look online first for their next property. The exposure created through an entry only MLS listing on the most popular real estate websites is amazing – your home will be seen on Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and literally hundreds of other websites, both local and national.

In today’s real estate market, homeowners now have choices when selling their home. In Springfield, there are currently 8 single family homes listed for sale by owner using a flat fee MLS entry only listing, as opposed to a full commission listing from a traditional real estate brokerage.

Springfield homeowners who list FSBO take over the services that real estate professionals normally perform when selling their property. However, they should be assured that their property is getting the exact same exposure on the MLS as those from a traditional listing.

As the flat fee MLS trend in real estate gains popularity, it’s important to note that the role of the real estate agent has changed. It’s the Internet that brings buyers and sellers together and more and more homeowners are not willing to pay a standard real estate commission to listing their home for sale in the MLS.

Do Springfield Massachusetts Entry Only MLS Listings Work?

In the past six months, there have been 5 Springfield Massachusetts flat fee MLS listings that have sold by owner, the average sales price per square foot has been $103 and the average days on market has been 164.

Contrast that with standard full commission listings by traditional real estate brokerages, while there have been 332 single family homes that have sold, the average sales price per square foot has been $90 and the average days on market has been 120.

In Springfield, Massachusetts, flat fee MLS listings that are sold by owner appear to be selling for a higher price per square foot than their full commission counterparts, yet taking longer to sell.