ENTRY ONLY NEW ENGLAND

Massachusetts Flat Fee MLS Entry Only Listings

Massachusetts FSBOs Average $10,874 in Savings with Flat Fee MLS in 2013

2013 was a banner year for Massachusetts property owners selling their own homes without a Realtor. In 2013, for sale by owners (FSBOs) saved on average $10,874 in real estate agent commissions and fees when listing and selling with an entry only MLS listing from Entry Only New England.

Our clients consistently saved on commissions and fees when leveraging our platform this past year, on average they saved over $10,800 per listing of a single family home or condominium!  We’re talking real equity back in a seller’s pocket,” said Dean Charles, spokesperson for Entry Only New England, the first and only all digital flat fee MLS entry only listing platform serving Massachusetts.

MA Entry Only MLS Listings Hit Record Levels

While the majority of property is still listed by a Realtor charging a full commission, popularity of entry only MLS listings is growing. An entry only MLS listing (learn more) allows a property owner to list their property in the official local multiple listing service (MLS) for a one-time flat fee, as opposed to paying a listing agent a percentage of the sale price. An entry only MLS listing looks no different in the market than a full commission listing, and flat fee MLS entry only listings get syndicated to all of the most popular real estate websites.

2013 was a record year for entry only MLS listings sold in Massachusetts. There was a total of 1,477 properties that sold or were rented as entry only MLS listings across a number of property types, including single family homes, condominiums, multi family, land, and residential rental.  

The record level volume represents a 17% year-to-year increase in flat fee MLS entry only listings sold in Massachusetts, and signals the growing trend of selling your own home without a Realtor.

2013 saw the highest total of flat fee MLS listings sold in Massachusetts ever.  Massachusetts FSBOs are coming out to capitalize on rising home prices, and are selling without a Realtor to put additional savings in their pocket to take to their next transaction.

List without a Realtor on the Most Popular Real Estate Websites

If you’re selling your home today, it’s imperative that your listing has a comprehensive web presence. Approximately 90% of buyers and renters start their home search online, and you might be shocked to learn that only a small handful of top real estate websites get nearly half of all that online traffic.

Get Listed without a Realtor on the Most Popular Real Estate Websites

Inman News staff writer Paul Hagey put together an article entitled Top 10 real estate websites get nearly half of traffic where he laid out clearly that an elite list of just 10 real estate related websites capture approximately 42% of all real estate website traffic – said differently, everyone going online to look at anything that has to do with real estate visits a select few “mega” real estate websites!

If you’re selling your home, your properly listing must be present on these behemoths in the real estate industry, and while it doesn’t hurt to be listed on the thousands of other websites from real estate brokerages and individual agents, there are a select few websites that are “must have” – it’s a must that real estate brokers place their listings where buyers will find them!

The most important real estate websites that your property needs to be listed on are Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Yahoo! Homes, and Homes.com.

List on Trulia without a Realtor

Now that you know what websites to go after, how do you list your property for sale or rent on Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, and others? Good question. You may have seen discussion threads on sites like Trulia that state you must have a Realtor to list on Trulia. However, the way to get your property listed for sale or rent on these websites is simple, use a flat fee MLS listing service.

A flat fee MLS listing service (backed by a licensed real estate broker) will charge you a one-time flat fee to list your home for sale or rent in the MLS, and once in the MLS, your listing will be syndicated to all of the top websites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Yahoo! Homes, and Homes.com.

So the key is the multiple listing service (MLS).  Once in the MLS, that’s the gateway to being listed on the top real estate realted websites, along with thousands of others.

Entry Only New England is the only all digital flat fee MLS listing service in Massachusetts and a trusted local provider of entry only MLS listings, helping for sale by owners (FSBOs) get their property listed for sale and rent in the official Massachusetts MLS and then successfully syndicated to sites like Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, Yahoo! Homes, and Homes.com.

Get Started Now - Flat Fee Entry Only MLS Listing

Massachusetts Entry Only MLS Listings Near Record Levels

The number of flat fee entry only MLS listings sold year to date in Massachusetts is approaching record levels.  The Massachusetts for sale by owner (FSBO) market is currently on pace to surpass record levels of homes sold via entry only MLS listings (i.e. FSBOs selling their own homes without the help of a Realtor) that date back to 2010.

Entry Only MLS Listings in Massachusetts

The info-graphic above chronicles the number of entry only MLS listings that sold in Massachusetts, across various property types, in the years from 2010 through 2013 year to date (YTD).  With approximately two (2) months remaining in the 2013 calendar year, the number of properties listed for sale by a FSBO without a Realtor in the official MLS system of Massachusetts, called MLS Property Information Network, that have actually sold has reached 1,300.  FSBOs across Massachusetts are poised to break a record volume of homes sold without the help of a Realtor listing agent, a volume and sales velocity record that dates back to 2010.

Boston Entry Only MLS Listings

Where Boston goes, oftentimes the state of Massachusetts follows. In the below info-graphic, you’ll see the number of entry only MLS listings that sold specifically in the city of Boston (and all its neighborhoods) across the various property types since 2010.  What we’re seeing is that while FSBOs are currently on pace to see a year over year increase in Boston entry only MLS listings sold, we’re not seeing Boston progress as quickly as the rest of Massachusetts as it relates to velocity of flat fee MLS listings.

Boston Entry Only MLS Listings

The difference in velocity of Boston entry only MLS listings as compared to the state of Massachusetts could be for any number of reasons.  What we can say with certainty is that Boston condos listed for sale in the MLS using a flat fee MLS approach are going under agreement quickly – read more about a recent South End Boston entry only MLS listing that went under agreement three times faster than similar condos listed for sale by traditional real estate agents charging a full commission.

Palmer FSBO Saves $5,305 with Entry Only MLS Listing

The latest single family home to sell in Palmer, Massachusetts was the 1,300 square foot two-bedroom two-bathroom at 104 Beech Street, Palmer, MA 01069.  The Palmer FSBO seller saved $5,305 in real estate agent commission on the transaction.

Saved on real estate agent commission and fees, how is that possible?  The seller, a for sale by owner (FSBO), used one of our flat fee entry only MLS listings to get their home into the official Massachusetts MLS system and eliminated the commission that a listing agent would typically charge – in the process the FSBO saved over $5,000!

Flat Fee MLS Palmer Massachusetts

Selling your own home, without the help of a Realtor, through the use of a flat fee MLS entry only listing can save you substantial amounts of money that would otherwise be paid in fees and commissions to a listing broker.  In the case of the Palmer FSBO at 104 Beech Street, the home was listed for $233,000 and sold for $224,000 (96% sales to list price ratio).  The FSBO paid a one-time flat fee to Entry Only New England to list the home in the MLS, skipped paying a listing broker, and saved $5,305 in real estate agent commission – that’s an additional 2.5% of equity captured that would have otherwise been given up to a listing broker from a traditional brokerage charging a full commission to list the home for sale in the MLS.

Palmer FSBO Sells Faster & For More Money Than Realtor

What is remarkable is the efficiency of entry only MLS listings in Palmer and how they compare to listings from real estate agents charging a full commission.  Over the past six months, there have been 47 single family Palmer homes that have sold, two of them were entry only MLS listings from Palmer FSBOs, and those entry only MLS listings sold more than three times faster than their full commission listing peers.

Over the past six months, the average days on market (DOM), essentially the number of days that it takes for a property to sell, was only 28 days for entry only MLS listings and a whopping 94 days for listings from traditional Realtors charging a full commission.

Palmer FSBO MLS Listings Average Days on Market

So the flat fee MLS approach, without the Realtor, is yielding Palmer FSBOs home sales at three times the pace of homes listed and sold by real estate agents that charge a full commission.  Sounds good, you sell your home faster with the flat fee MLS approach – that’s the data from the official Massachusetts MLS system over the past six months.  If that wasn’t enough, entry only MLS listings in Palmer sell for more money than full commission listings from traditional agents – over the past six months, the 2 entry only MLS listings in Palmer yielded a sales price per square foot of $140, while the 45 homes sold by real estate agents yielded $107 per square foot.

Learn more about how our flat fee MLS platform works, how much will you save?

 

Boston Entry Only MLS Listing Goes Under Agreement Fast

We recently brought you news of one of the latest Boston condominiums to hit the MLS for sale, it was a South End Boston flat fee MLS listing at 85 Dartmouth Street. The FSBO seller listed the duplex condo for $970,000 using our flat fee MLS service – so the seller was able to get their condo listed for sale in the MLS, garnering the exposure that the MLS provides, but avoid paying a commission to a listing broker.

85 Dartmouth Street Unit 1 has already gone under agreement, with days on market (DOM) of 9, selling three times faster than the average South End condominium being listed for sale by a traditional listing agent charging a typical real estate agent commission.

Boston Flat Fee MLS Listings Prove Effective

Staying in the South End of Boston, let’s compare and contrast condominiums that have sold or are under agreement using a traditional full commission approach versus an entry only MLS flat fee listing approach.

Over the past 6 months there have been 426 condominiums that have either sold or are currently under agreement to be sold. 99.3% of these condos were transacted under a full commission sales approach. The average days on market (DOM) (i.e. how long it takes to find a buyer and sell) for those full commission listings is 28 days with an average price per square foot of $704.

Contrast that to the 3 condominium listings of the 426 that were sold using an entry only MLS approach (i.e. where the seller is a FSBO and does not pay a real estate agent commission to a listing broker, but rather, pays a one-time flat fee to get their home into the MLS). The average days on market (DOM) for the 3 flat fee MLS listings in Boston’s South End is 22 days with an average price per square foot of $751.

Boston entry only MLS condo listings in the South End are selling approximately 19% faster and for 6% more per square foot than condos being listed and sold with Realtors for a full commission.