Put Bullets In Your Private Sale Arsenol

I was recently asked by a client to provide some ammunition.

Like many private sellers he is being contacted by more real estate agents than he cares to talk to. Every real estate agent seems to have their own angle or propaganda they are pushing. After a while it just gets tired and boring and you just want to tell them all to go away. I was asked to post some ammunition to assist a private home seller in combating this propaganda with valid arguments. So today I will post the first of many bullets to put in your gun.

Realtor Myth #1 Real estate agents can sell your home for more money.

Truth - First let's discuss the basics. If an house sells for $300,000 the home seller only get $285,000 (based on 5% commission) if done the "traditional" way with a real estate agent. Agents would have you believe that without their involvement the home seller could not sell the same home for the same money. That a buyer will pay more money for a home simply because of the square sign on their lawn. Real estate agents will add value to the transaction simply by being involved. A recent study from the National Association of Realtors in the US shows that private sellers get closer to their asking price and sell sooner. Hmmmm.

Let's look closer to home to see how this relates to you and I. A property in Guelph was listed on PropertyGuys.com at a price that was higher than what the market wanted to pay - after several weeks the owner was solicited by an agent who is knocking on the door of all of our clients. He came with a promise to put the price UP $10,000 and sell no problem. Our client bit the hook and listed it for $340,000. After 90 days with the agent she was down to $319,900. It did not sell because the market was not attracted to the property at that price point - so she re-listed with PropertyGuys.com at $309,900. It ended selling for just under $300,000 after 5 weeks.

We see this time and time again. Real estate agents do not add value. They provide a service, an expensive one at that. If an agent comes knocking at your door tell them if they can sell your house for more money, go ahead. Your accepting offers. If they can get more than your asking tell them they can keep the difference. Tell them to head back to the office and in to the "buyer vault" and bring one over, heck bring two and start a bidding war.


Real estate agents claim all sorts of things. They claim that they can sell your home for more and then the next breath they say that you need to use them to buy because they will make sure you don't pay to much. Which is it? Do they make them more expensive or less money?

If there was any weight to this claim agents with buyers would only be shopping on sites like PropertyGuys.com because houses would be cheaper than ones listed with agents.