Too important to do it youself

This weekend's Washington Post featured an article entitled "Keys To Selling Your Home Without An Agent", which offered tips to prospective do-it-yourself sellers.

A couple things struck me when reading this. First, the author pointed out the fewer fewer home sellers are going FSBO these days. In 1991, 19% of home sales were FSBO. In 2005, that figure was down to only 13 percent.

Why? Consumers have access to more information than ever before, yet fewer of them are going at it alone. My guess is that, the more consumers see, the more they realize how difficult it is to do this successfully.

Which leads to my second take-away from the article. In pointing out what FSBO sellers should do, the article in effect documents a rather intimidating "to-do" list for sellers.

What I'm hearing from real estate agents nationwide is that their sellers are busier than ever before, and in a changing market realize that real estate professionals are uniquely positioned to help them sell their home fast and for the highest possible price.

And at the end of the day, getting a higher price not only more than pays for the agent's commission, but makes the home sale FAR easier and stress-free.