Is it Hard to Sell Your House on Your Own? Here’s The Truth
If you’re thinking about selling your home, a simple question has probably popped into your head: “Why don’t I try to save money: how hard is it to sell my house on my own?” It’s a tempting idea. The average real estate agent’s commission, which comes out to around 5-6% on a sale, may see some changes with the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) lawsuit settlement expected to take effect mid-August, but an agent will still need to be paid a commission for their services. It only makes sense that you could save that money by selling alone, right?
Actually, it’s quite hard to sell your house on your own. And selling your home by yourself can cost you a hefty sum in the long run. According to the 2024 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report from NAR, 50% of buyers from all generations primarily relied on their agent to help them find the right home. Additionally, 89% of home sellers worked with a real estate agent to sell their homes, a trend that remained consistent across all age groups.
What’s more, selling your home on your own is probably much harder than you realize. In this article, we dig into exactly what it takes to sell your home on your own and look at the reasons why it tends to be a decision sellers regret.
Is it hard to sell a house on your own?
Chances are, you’re asking yourself, “Is it really that hard to sell my house on my own?” In most cases, the answer is “Yes!” It’s one reason why just 7% of sellers decided to do it alone in 2023. Still, there are a few fringe cases where selling a house on your own may not be a bad idea. Attempting to sell your house alone may be doable if you fall into one of the following categories:
You don’t care how much money you’ll make on your home
You’re an experienced real estate agent yourself
You already have a buyer lined up
Unfortunately, even if you fall into the small percentage of sellers from one of the categories above, you’re still not safe from all of the for sale by owner (FSBO) risks. Knowing your buyer beforehand doesn’t protect you from taking a price cut on your home sale, for example. Even worse, if you underestimate the work that goes into selling your home on your own, it can cost you hours of time and piles of money in the long run.
