Survey: FSBOs sell for $45,000 less in Florida.

Survey: FSBOs sell for $45,000 less in Florida.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Feb. 17, 2006 -- A study conducted for the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) found the cost a FSBO seller in Florida paid in 2005 for going it alone: $45,000. The median price of a home sold represented by a licensee was $255,000; the median price of a FSBO was $210,000.

The results can be found in the "The Florida 2005 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers," a study conducted on behalf of FAR by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) in tandem with their national study on buyers and sellers.

The study looked at the characteristics of homebuyers in Florida as well as the steps they took to find a home. It also focused on buyers' views of licensee representation and how they financed the purchase. For home sellers, the study dug deeper into the process for those represented by a licensee, but it also looked at FSBO (for sale by owner) sellers to find out more about their reasons and methods.

Homebuyers

The Internet continues to play a large role in the home-search process. According to the survey, 87 percent of homebuyers in Florida used a real estate professional in 2005, but only 38 percent of them found the house they would eventually purchase through their practitioner; 15 percent found their home online. On average, homebuyers searched for six weeks and visited eight homes before purchasing, but they searched on their own for an average of two weeks before contacting a licensee. Most -- 78 percent -- used the same licensee through the purchasing process.

Home sellers

It pays to get a home listing: The study found that over one-third of sellers (36 percent) represented by a licensee used the same licensee to help them buy a home. A majority of represented sellers, 71 percent, listed their home with the first licensee they interviewed.

The state had a high percentage of home sellers choose to go it alone as a FSBO, however. In Florida, 29 percent of homes sold as a FSBO; nationally, it was 13 percent, and in the South, which includes Florida, the average was 17 percent. (In the West, only 7 percent sold as FSBOs.) While 27 percent of Florida FSBOs were listed exclusively by the homeowner, 2 percent were listed by a licensee at the onset but sold as a FSBO after the listing expired.

Other major findings

• The median household income of homebuyers in Florida was $73,200 compared to $71,600 in the U.S.
• First time homebuyers in Florida accounted for 22 percent of homes purchased in 2005, and they had a median income of $49,400.
• Sixty-four percent of recent buyers ranked neighborhood quality as the most important factor influencing the location of their home purchase.
• Eighty-five percent of homebuyers in Florida financed their home purchase, and 18 percent financed the entire purchase price.
• The typical home was on the market for three weeks.