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New research shows home sellers who used a real estate agent made $79,000 more from their home sales than sellers who did not.
That’s according to a survey by Clever Real Estate, based on the replies of 654 Americans who sold a home in 2023 or 2024—about 36% of whom chose to sell their home without an agent.
Nearly a third of those unrepresented sellers (30%) chose that route to avoid paying real estate commissions, though they generally had more than one reason. Other reasons included:
“I thought it would be quicker than a traditional sale” (29%)
- “The house was at risk of foreclosure” (29%)
- “My house was in bad condition” (28%)
- “It was convenient” (27%)
- “I prefer to handle showings/negotiations myself” (27%)
Eight in ten sellers who chose not to work with a real estate agent have regrets about their home sale, with more than half (54%) wishing they had used an agent.
Sellers who worked with an agent, despite having to pay the commission, earned an average profit of $207,500, compared to the $128,500 profit for unrepresented sellers—a difference of $79,000.
That’s not the only difference, though.
FSBO sellers’ regrets
For sellers who sold a home without a real estate agent, their disappointment corresponded pretty closely to what they expected to gain from the transaction—as well as how much time and/or money they hoped to save by going the FSBO route.
Speaking of time, 80% of those who sold a home in 2023 or 2024 said selling as quickly as possible was an important priority.
And while selling with an agent clearly has its advantages, it can sometimes take longer to sell a home that way, which, for 29% of unrepresented sellers, is the reason why they chose not to use an agent.
According to Clever’s survey, sellers without an agent are twice as likely as sellers with an agent to sell their home in less than one week.
That said, nearly half of FSBO sellers (48%) believe they would have sold their home faster with an agent. And 47% think they would have sold for more money.
Speaking of money, 49% of FSBO sellers say they wish they’d priced their home differently. Meanwhile, 73% of represented sellers credit their agents with pricing their homes correctly.
That could be due to one or (hopefully) both of the following:
- Their agent used their extensive knowledge of the market to educate their client on what to expect and how to price their home for the best results.
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Their agent masterfully negotiated on their behalf and succeeded in getting the final sale price up to the level desired.
While sellers don’t all approach a home sale with the same mix of hopes and expectations, 84% of those surveyed by Clever consider making the most money possible a top priority, with 50% rating it as “very important.”
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