Discount Brokers: A Thing of the Past?

By Sheryl Landrum
Home Worth Columnist

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Buying and selling a home is expensive. In the past few years, many potential home sellers listed with discount brokerages; however, the trend today is to list with more expensive home selling agencies. Read on to find out why.

When the housing market is hot and home selling becomes a no-brainer, it is easy to see why a home seller would choose a discount realtor broker. Home buying becomes a competition among buyers, driving up home values and ensuring a home has minimal time on the market. In this kind of seller's market, many home sellers resent the six percent realtor fees that a full brokerage commands and gravitate to the one- to two-percent commission fees that discount brokers charge.

However, in today's buyer's market, a full service/full commission realtor may be what you need to get a good price for your home. A full service realtor brokerage comes with a higher cost but bigger benefits as well. Realtors who charge six percent for a home selling transaction are prepared to really market your home and to verify your home's value and asking price. These realtors are prepared to hold open houses, put your home in numerous multiple listing services, magazines, newspapers, etc.-- marketing that discount brokers don't do.

With homes now sitting on the market longer, consider how you plan to sell your home. Do you want to have your home aggressively marketed or do you want to have someone simply place a "for sale" sign in your yard? The choice is yours, but make it a wise one. Shop for a realtor who is reputable and with a good company behind them. In today's market it could mean the difference between selling your home--or not.

About the Author
Sheryl Landrum is a Senior Loan Officer with First Capital Mortgage of San Diego at the Prudential Realty Office in Bonsall, California.