<p>
Nobody wants the house to take months to sell. Properties go stale, after they’ve been on for a few months people start to wonder what is wrong with it because it hasn’t sold, and you wind up getting offers for less than the “quick sale” price would have been.</p>
<p>There is logic there, it’s not just laziness on the part of the agent. 
</p>
<p>There were several homes for sale in our neighborhood which have been on the market for almost 2 years. I am definitely wondering what is wrong with them. A couple seem over priced, but most seem in line with comps, so I don’t get it.</p>
<p>20 years ago we tried to buy a FSBO. We were motivated buyers, having gone under contact with prior home and were working with a realtor and came across a house in the neighborhood we liked. We toured the house, liked it, and made a verbal offer to the owner what we thought was a fair price, which was c15% below asking. (Common practice then, and we knew the market). Told him we were willing to start the process with our attorney and get a $1000 good faith deposit with his attorney the next day. He said no and we said ‘call us if you reconsider’. Within 2 days we were under contract for our current home. A week later we got a call from FSBO guy wanting to negotiate. We laughed and said we were already under contract. </p>
<p>Moral of the story: FSBOs need to be willing to do business quickly, especially if a potential buyer tells you they are actively looking and have a contract on their current house. Realize you are not the only game in town.</p>
<p>I receive a real estate newsletter, and just received one with an article very timely to this discussion:</p>
<p>[Why</a> Hasn?t The Internet Killed Off Real Estate Brokers & Agents? | Candy’s Dirt | Dallas Real Estate News and Blog by Former Dallas Dirt Editor Candy Evans](<a href=“http://www.candysdirt.com/2013/08/26/why-hasnt-the-internet-killed-off-real-estate-brokers-agents/]Why”>http://www.candysdirt.com/2013/08/26/why-hasnt-the-internet-killed-off-real-estate-brokers-agents/)</p>
<p>With our last FSBO, I had an appointment to list on Sunday night with a real estate agent. A couple came through Sunday afternoon and I told them that I was listing it and I would have more flexibility to negotiate price that day than I would have the next day. They made an offer, we negotiated the price and it sold. </p>
<p>We have a house in the other end of our neighborhood that started FSBO and then was listed. It seems to be stagnant as well. It has more traffic than my house and from the photos I have seen online, it has that very country decorating that is not so popular now.</p>