Jul 11 2016

MLS PIN to Change Handling of Contingent Status

MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN), New England’s largest multiple listing service (MLS) and the MLS that we at Entry Only New England utilize, is rolling out a significant change to how they handle the use of Contingent property status.

As a refresher, a property listing in the MLS with a Contingent status means the Owner has a mutually accepted and executed offer, but the Owner has requested it still be listed in the MLS as active for the purpose of receiving backup offers. Such listings carry a status of “Contingent” or “CTG”, and must continue to be shown to interested buyers and their agents. A Contingent property must meet one of the following conditions: Inspection, Attorney Review, Appraisal, Financing, Third-Party Approval, Pending P&S.

Contingent status can sometimes be misleading, because the MLS system, the ultimate system of record, calls it “Contingent”, yet popular sites like Zillow and Redfin call it “Pending”, Trulia uses “Active Contingent”, while Realtor.com uses “Contingent”.

So, what’s changing with Contingent status?

A change to the Contingent (CTG) status has been approved by the MLS PIN Board of Directors. This change is being made to address the overwhelming number of listings being left in CTG status when they are not available for showings or should not actually be in an active status. According to the MLS PIN front office staff, CTG listings account for approximately 25% of the current active listing inventory in the MLS, and as a result, the CTG listings that are legitimately available for showings are being lost amidst the overwhelming number of those that are not truly available.

It’s clear the MLS front office staff is signaling that Contingent status has been abused, or misused at best, and they’re taking corrective action, namely to maintain the underlying integrity of the MLS’ data on property listings.

Practically speaking, what does this mean for an MLS listing, be that an entry only MLS listing or otherwise?

MLS PIN will implement a change so that a Contingent listing will remain Contingent for a period of 14 days, after which it will automatically convert to an Under Agreement (UAG) status. If a listing auto-converts to Under Agreement status, it can be made Continent again by changing its status to Back On Market (BOM) and then changing its status to Contingent (starting that 14 day clock over again).

MLS PIN has created a property status quick reference guide that provides a full rundown of what all the real estate property status terms mean in the MLS system.

Sep 13 2014

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.

Jul 01 2014

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!

Jun 24 2014

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.

Apr 01 2014

Is That an April Fools’ Joke, or Did a Milton MA FSBO Just Save $22,080 Selling Their Own Home?

A Milton Massachusetts FSBO just saved over $22,000 selling their own single family home without a Realtor. April Fools’ joke, or, the truth? Well, it’s true.

The latest home to sell in Milton is 94 Nahanton Avenue Milton, MA 02186. It was listed for sale by owner for $895,000 and sold for $895,000. Yes, that’s full asking price, and a 100% sale to list price ratio.

It probably stayed on the market a long time to get that price, right?

It sold in 5 days. That’s 17 times faster than the average Milton Massachusetts home sold over the past 6 months. On average, single family Milton homes listed for sale by Realtors are on the market for 86 days before selling. A relatively large sample size of sold homes exists, as there have been over 115 single family home sales in Milton over the past 6 months.

94 Nahanton Avenue was listed for sale in the MLS by owner without a Realtor and it was on the market for 5 days before it sold.

Well, clearly the FSBO took a lower sale price than what the market will bear in order to sell that quickly?

94 Nahanton Avenue sold for $289 per square foot. The average single family home sale in the Milton 02186 zip code over the past 6 months has been $259 per square foot. The Milton FSBO who listed on the MLS via flat fee realty service Entry Only New England achieved a 12% higher price per square foot than homeowners in Milton who listed and sold with a real estate agent charging a full commission.

So, the latest Milton single family home sale:

Was a flat fee MLS listing and sold for full asking price
Was a flat fee MLS listing and was on the market just 5 days
Was a flat fee MLS listing and sold for 12% more than average

Milton Massachusetts FSBO Kitchen

Sell by Owner in Milton with Flat Fee MLS

The Milton Massachusetts homeowner at 94 Nahanton Avenue Milton, MA 02186 decided to take their 3,100 square foot 5 bedroom 3 bath home and list it in the official Massachusetts MLS, the same MLS licensed agents and brokers use, for a one-time low flat fee with what’s called a flat fee MLS entry only listing.

Massachusetts homeowners who take the first step, learn how to fsbo, and get listed for sale on the MLS are saving thousands of dollars in real estate agent commission, you can too.