Sellers and Buyers in Today's Housing Market

New study reveals facts on FSBO sites' demographics.

Miami Beach, FL (PRWEB) November 5, 2007 -- Leading for-sale-by-owner website Fizber.com has released a survey on the demographics of FSBO websites. The recent studies done by Fizber.com show that FSBO sites attract a more affluent, slightly more female than male audience. These sites cater to a primarily older, mostly Caucasian audience with the household income over $100,000/year. The typical visitor shops at Home Depot and watches DIY - The Do It Yourself Cable Channel. People in the middle class are more open to FSBO because there's a larger incentive for them to save that 6%.

According to the study, three quarters of all Americans begin their search for a new home on the Internet. Dozens of FSBO websites now offer home sellers a platform for marketing their homes to millions of potential customers on the Internet. A typical FSBO site allows the seller to post a classified-style listing with multiple photos of the houses, along with e-mail and phone contact information. The majority of these home buyers and sellers are using the potential of the Internet to its fullest to save tens of thousands of dollars in agents' fees.

The survey has shown that 78% of consumers who plan to buy or sell a home in the next three years believe agents' commissions are unjustified. The same study also found that 92% of by owner sellers will sell their next home without the use of an agent. The concept is tantalizing: instead of paying a 6% commission to a Realtor, sell your house yourself on the Web.

However, the desire to reduce the transaction costs associated with selling real estate isn't the only reason what makes FSBO becoming so popular. Today's home sellers want more options and more flexibility than they've had in the past. The top reasons why people are using FSBO sites are to get information on homes for sale, get information on recently sold homes, and help determine a bid price on a home.

The researchers also found that New York and Florida are among the hot markets for home sellers who don't want to turn to a real-estate agent. But what makes FSBOs hot in one town and not in another?

"Some regions of the U.S. are more receptive to Internet shopping than others", says Chris Taylor, Fizber.com Analytics Department Manager. "According to the research, homeowners in Florida and new York are more receptive to selling without an agent because customers here use the Internet more often than people in other states but still there are several other minor factors driving the strong FSBO activity in particular markets".

Industry experts agree that for-sale-by-owner websites will ultimately succeed. The reason: Realtor commissions are too steep, they say, and homeowners want a less expensive way to sell their properties. These factors will continue to drive enormous demand for alternative real estate services models.

About Fizber.com

Fizber.com, a leading FSBO website with 980,000 listings throughout the United States, offers additional services for sellers and buyers, including neighborhood info, mortgage calculators, information on schools and recent sales data to help sellers price their homes accurately. And for those unsure about going FSBO, the website provides links to Realtor sites and phone numbers for partnering real estate agents. On the Web: http://fsbo.fizber.com

# # #