The Cost of Zillow Offers vs. a Traditional Sale
“Now many analysts have simply compared our service fee to the 6% agent commission costs from a traditional home sale. But this comparison using only commissions ignores that a home seller has to manage, or incur other costs: cleaning the house, staging, HOA fees, or the cost associated with the misalignment of a home sale, such as carrying two mortgages, renting an apartment, etc., when selling traditionally. These are meaningful costs that add up quickly. With Zillow Offers, a home seller doesn’t have to worry about doing any of these themselves. What’s more, because of our scale, the costs associated with repairs when we do them tend to be lower than what an individual homeowner would pay if they contracted out the work themselves as individuals.”
Errol Samuelson
Great post by Errol. He is exactly right. Many people focus on the sales price and we are seeing those getting closer and closer. What many people don’t consider is the costs associated with the sale. Sometimes those costs don’t come up in a CMA net sheet.
We can argue the percentage of homes that will be sold in the future via iBuying but you can’t argue that it’s not going to be significant.
I’ve written this before but what brokers and agents need to realize is that just like they should never walk into a listing presentation without knowing the Zestimate, they should also know what iBuyers are willing to offer too.
This is a perfect way for agents to be that trusted advisor that gives their client all the necessary information to make a good decision. IBuying is a huge opportunity for agents and should be embraced and not feared.
