Should You Use A Flat-Fee MLS Listing To Sell Your Home? Information To Help You Decide

According to recent statistics, homeowners generally stay in their homes for 13.3 years. Using these figures, homeowners might be expected to list and sell a home several times during their lives. In addition to being time-consuming and inconvenient, most home selling experiences can end up being quite expensive. However, using a flat-fee MLS listing option can be cheaper and just as efficient. 

The typical cost of the traditional listing and sale experience

One of the most expensive costs related to selling a home is usually the real estate sales commission. This cost is one that sellers agree to pay to the listing agent upon the successful sale and closing of their home.

Under current law, real estate sales commissions are fully negotiable between the listing brokerage and their seller client. Most sellers, however, end up agreeing to pay about 6 percent of the contract sales price of their home to their listing brokerage. This sum is then usually split between the listing and selling brokerages, who will then split their own portion with listing and buyers agent. 

This could mean that sellers see a closing statement charge of approximately $6,000 for each $100,000 of their home's contract sales price — a figure that is sure to be a hefty bite of the sale profit they will need to purchase their next home or use it for other needs. 

The flat-fee MLS real estate difference

Due to the emergence of flat-fee MLS and other discount real estate brokerage concepts, sellers now have more options for using real estate services. By breaking the services apart and offering them as a menu of choices, sellers are able to select and pay only for the services they feel they need to get their home sold. 

For example, homeowners who prefer or are willing to manage buyer calls and viewings, as well as managing their own marketing, negotiations, and closing details, might only need to pay a small fee to have their home listed in the multiple listing system (MLS) in order to bolster their market exposure. 

Flat-fee or discount real estate brokerage models are typically paid by the seller at the time of selection, instead of taking a percentage of the contracted sale price when the transaction closes. For sellers, this can mean a much larger proceeds check than they would have gotten by using a traditional full-service listing brokerage. For more information, speak with a representative from a business like Crawford Realty, Inc. that provides MLS listing services. 

Some flat-fee and discount real estate brokers also offer traditional full-service, percentage-based representation, along with their menu of discounted services. Homeowners who are preparing to put their home on the market and would like to learn more about both flat-fee and traditional listing options can do so by meeting with both types of listing brokerages or agents before deciding which option will be best for their home selling situation.