T
here are something like 1,300 real estate agents in Winnipeg. But with listing down this year, there's not a lot for many of them to do.
In March, the Winnipeg board reported listings were down two per cent at 1,462 while sales were down from March 2007 by 13 per cent at 993.
That's 993 sales shared between 1,300 agents, leaving hundreds of agents with no hope of income if they confine themselves to the MLS.
But, as anyone who has ever listed with
ComFree can attest, they decidedly do not confine
themselves to their own market. You can
count on being besieged by eager-beaver agents
who will agree to dedicate their lives to selling
you home the moment the ComFree sign goes
up. And often at no cost to you.
So, that leads inevitably to this question: Why
would an intelligent homeowner list his home on
the MLS? Why guarantee a listing agent thousands
of dollars for filling out a form when your
home will sell quickly anyway? Particularly
when an agent with a buyer will be knocking on
your door regardless of whether you are on the
agents’ market or ComFree’s.
While the real estate board reports its listings
are down this year, ComFree’s are up about nine
per cent. On both markets, homes are selling briskly.
ComFree’s sold success rate exceeds 80 per cent,
with 32 per cent going for more than the asking
price, usually as the result of a bidding war.
With more buyers looking than homes on the
market to look at, and with ComFree listings up
this year, it’s clear an increasing number of
homeowners are realizing there’s no need to tie
themselves to an agent’s listing agreement that
will cost them, on average, $12,000. Smart homeowners
are realizing a ComFree listing is the best of all
possible worlds. One of three things will happen
when you choose ComFree:
1) The best, and most likely outcome, is that
you will sell directly to the buyer without any
agent involvement. You will pay no commission
and pocket the entire proceeds of your sale, preserving
all your home’s equity.
2) You will sell to a buyer represented by an
agent, but the buyer will pay the agent’s commission
because they have signed a contract agreeing
to pay the agent. That’s only fair since
they’ve chosen to include an agent in a private
sale. Again, you pay nothing.
3)You will sell to a buyer represented by an
agent and you agree to pay the agent something.
Worst case, you will pay half as much as you
would have had you listed on the MLS. But you
will likely be able to negotiate something even
less. Remember, they’re hungry, so be firm from
the start and offer something less than three percent.
Paying a listing agent in this market is not
only a huge expense, it’s totally unnecessary.
