I know it’s tough out there – big business has messed with our nation in an unacceptable way to create this mess, but we are coming out of it and Austin has fared very well compared to any other US cities. The media regularly prints utter garbage about the market – they are for sale to vulcher investors. Have faith that the ice is melting. The fact is that the Austin market is not bad, prices didn’t fall much at all and have been edging up and will not drop. Compared to most western nations and US cities Austin is an outright bargain. We really did sell our approx $400K house ourselves at the beginning of this year and it was quite easy, that is after we fired the realtors. I also sold a house FSBO in the 1990s with no issues. We realized that none of the realtors to whom we gave a chance were doing even as much as we could do ourselves to market the property despite flashy folios and pitches about aggressive marketing – they were all just fishing like us but with much less commitment. One recommended agent even asked me to plant the for sale sign myself with her name on it! We have seen no evidence that they have any magic, just a desire for the easy commission from one of their ‘fish hooks’. We were also appalled by their monkey like pricing calculations that totally ignored drastic differences in comps and major errors in square footage claims (even with tax office). We received a much higher net than we would have with any of them. Bottom line it is about finding that one buyer that wants your house so identify what your positive differentiators are and emphasis them. Be realistic about price but don’t cave to the vulchers preying on you – it is not necessary. Due to the realtor monopoly you will have to buy a listing on the MLS via a discount broker. That will cost you several hundred dollars. You may then find that you may have to meet realtor monopoly half way by agreeing to pay buyer agent commission as agents clearly expect many thousands for driving someone around for a few hours. You will also encounter your house being used as padding for extending some realtor tours. I would not waste time with an open house. Expect to pay several hundred dollars to a title company for handling the closing process. Best of luck!

Thanks for your comment. Glad you had a successful effort! Part of the commission/image problem for Realtors is all the hidden effort required, stuff that isn’t really seen. Plus all the uncompensated effort for buyers and sellers that never pan out.

I think it might be the most interesting careers out there because so many simply can’t make it, or barely scrape by, and eventually wash out, but all are deemed to be over-compensated by the general public.

Steve

It’s a great business to be in, no marketing expenses, no self-employment tax, and every year dozens of people show up at your door ready to not waste a single minute of your time.