District of Columbia Flat Fee Realtor*

Since the 1970s, the National Association of REALTORS^® has been measuring what percentage of homes sell by REALTORS^® and what percentage sell By Owner.  It has consistently averaged 85:15 (REALTORS^® to Owners respectively).  What this means is that when listing your property with a traditional REALTOR^®, you will on average reach 85% of the market. Consequently if you list your property as For Sale By Owner you will reach 15% of the market on average. Wouldn't it be better to get 100% of the market?  The goal of selling is to encourage competitive bidding because it will drive up the price of your property.  As your market size increases, so will the probability of this competitive bidding occurring.  When you list your property as For Sale By Owner, you will never know if you would have gotten a higher bid had your home been listed in the MLS and exposed to the other 85% of the market. With a Flat Fee Realtor you will get that other 85% of the market. Theoretically, with a Flat Fee Realtor, that other 85% of the market can be attracted at an average commission of 2½%±¹.  The odds are that the interest of the other 85% of home buyers will increase the bidding on your home by more than the 2½% cost of your home. So, on average, the difference will be greater than the For Sale By Owner Price when using a Flat Fee Realtor. Even better, with a Flat Fee MLS Listing, the commission is variable. What this means is that a buyer's broker is only paid if one assists in the sale. So if there is no buyer's broker's assistance the cost is only our Low Flat Fee which is almost the same as a For Sale By Owner sale. As you can see, the benefits of 100% of the market make a Flat Fee Realtor your best option.