FSBOs Hit All-Time Low as More Sellers Use Agents

For-sale-by-owner transactions hit an all-time low, making up only 6% of all home sales, according to the National Association of Realtors®. This was a 1% decrease from 2023. Moreover, of those who did sell via FSBO this year, half sold to someone they knew, says NAR’s 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.  

Accounting for 21% of all home sales in 1985, FSBOs have become less popular in the last 40 years, with numbers staying mostly in single digits since 2010. 

One main reason for the decline is that the data shows that FSBOs generally sell for less money. According to NAR, over the last year, the median price for all FSBO sales was $380,000 – significantly lower than the median for agent-assisted sales, which checked in at $435,000.  

Many FSBO sellers find that navigating the sales process alone isn’t easy. More than half have called the selling process stressful, with some of the top stressors being getting their home price right, selling within the length of time they intended and understanding and completing the required paperwork. 

That’s where real estate agents come in. 

Data shows that the large majority of homesellers rely on agents to help them through the sales process. According to NAR, 90% of sellers used an agent this year, and nearly all (87%) said they’d likely recommend their agents for future services. 

“For homesellers, this is one of the largest and most complicated financial transactions they will make,” says NAR Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Dr. Jessica Lautz. “Even as homeowners gain historic highs in housing equity, they do not want to leave money on the table – they want a seller’s agent to help price the home competitively, market the home and find a qualified buyer.”   

The top services that sellers said they wanted from their real estate agents included: 

1. Help marketing to potential buyers (22%) 
2. Help pricing the home competitively (20%) 
3. Help selling the home within a specific timeframe (18%) 
4. Help finding ways to fix up the home to sell it for more (15%) 
5. Help finding a buyer for the home (13%) 

For sellers looking to meet all their homeselling goals, Realtors® are dedicated experts who are eager to help.