Capitol Hill Area FSBO Listings

This morning, I noticed several new FSBO (For Sale By Owner) listings on the MLS. The sheer number piqued my interest. I quickly realized they all appeared courtesy of By Owner Homes and Land.com, one of the many Web-based FSBO sites. Mystery solved.

While exploring several of the listing, I was reminded why FSBO listings typically leave me cold: lack of comprehensive information (that, and over-pricing). While searching for my first home, I looked-at several FSBO homes. It was a very frustrating experience. I found the owners I encountered to be inflexible, with an unrealistic view of their home’s value.

I can forgive the emotional attachment of the owners to their homes, but I can’t countenance the lack of information. Typical FSBO listings display the No Photo Available image at left and may or may not include even the most basic information.

For folks that use the Web to do their initial research, this lack of detail almost guarantees that the majority will pass on these homes. With a glut of homes on the market, most with photos and detailed data, where’s the incentive to view homes blind? (In fact, from the buyer’s view, FSBO listings hold no real incentives at all.) 

I understand the lure of selling yourself:  no agent fees. Traditional fees are up to six percent of the selling price. For a $500,000 home, that’s a whopping $30,000 out of the seller’s pocket!

Sellers do have other options though. There are new real estate services, like Redfin, that help moderate the traditional fees while still providing valuable marketing services. Some of the FSBO sites attempt it too, but usually without comprehensive details required by today’s savvy buyers.

If you’re an intrepid explorer, have lots of time to go down blind alleys and can negotiate better than most, then maybe FSBO listings are worth a look. For you folks, here are Capitol Hill area FSBO listings:

1124 14th Ave Seattle, WA 98122  Price: $575,000
1 Bedroom, 1 Bath

821 16th Ave Seattle, WA 98122  Price: $699,950
5 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths

911 23rd Ave Seattle, WA 98122  Price: $850,000
5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths

103 Bellevue Ave E Seattle, WA 98102  Price: $365,000
1 Bedroom, 1 Bath

107 20th Ave Seattle, WA 98122  Price: $289,000
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath

1226 22nd Ave E Seattle, WA 98112 Price: $2,200,000
6 Bedrooms, 1 Bath

716 26th Ave E Seattle, WA 98112  Price: $549,995
5 Bedrooms, 3 Baths

601 Belmont Ave E Seattle, WA 98102  Price: $549,950
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath