Here Are Some Tips For When Your Listing Agreement Expires
When all seems lost and your house is still on the dock, change your perspective to outweigh the costs
Many home sellers are reaching the end of their listing agreements with agents as the number of unsold homes increases across the United States. The options for selling a home after the listing agreement expires:
1. Assess the agent’s performance
What is the agent’s performance like? Is the agent keeping in touch and updating you on the progress of marketing the home? The agent should pay special attention to how the home was marketed online since more than 84% of buyers search for homes online. What about the photos featured in the listing and the pricing? Is it accurate and up-to-date? What other online real estate websites did the agent use? Did the agent only use the MLS?
2. Renewing isn’t obligatory
There is no legal requirement for consumers to extend listing agreements with the same real estate agent. When a listing agreement ends, a seller can either renew it or switch to another agent or broker company if he or she wants to continue working with an agent. The seller, however, can also begin sales himself/herself and avoid commission fees altogether if he/she wants to.
3. There are other types of listing agreements you may want to consider:
Most people do not realize that sellers can sign three types of listing agreements with real estate brokers. These are the basics of commission and sales contracts, along with a summary:
A. The most common type of “exclusive right to sell” requires the seller to pay a commission to the agent regardless of who finds the buyer.
B. “Exclusive agency” agreements allow the seller to list his or her property with only one agency, without paying a commission.
C. Under an “open agency” listing agreement, the seller can have the home listed with multiple brokerages. A seller who finds the buyer himself/herself does not have to pay a commission.
4. Think about selling for sale by owner
The fall in home prices over the past 12 months has reduced the equity of homeowners by almost 16% in the nation’s top 20 markets. For-sale-by-owner sellers maximize their homes’ sales prices just as well as agents. When commissions are taken into account, sellers who sell by owner retain more equity and pocket more money. In addition to finding that FSBO sellers are more likely to get their asking price, Consumer Reports magazine also found that agents deliver a price of $5,000 below what is negotiated.
5. Think about taking the property off the market
There are historically fewer buyers in the market in the fall, making it a slower season for home sales. When it comes time to sell the home, sellers should decide whether it is possible to take it off the market until the spring.