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Does Selling Your Home With a Realtor® Net You More Money?

Ryan FitzgeraldRyan Fitzgerald
Nov 1, 2024 9 min read
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Does Selling Your Home With a Realtor® Net You More Money?
Chapters
01
You Net More Money When You Use A Realtor®, Numbers Don’t Lie:
02
% of For Sale By Owners will eventually list with a Realtor®
03
Over 88% of Buyers are using a Realtor
04
Realtor's Foresee Problems
05
Other Dangers when You Sell For Sale By Owner:
06
Realtors® Know Other Realtors®
07
REALTORS® Transact in Real Estate Deals, Networks, and Relationships Every Day
08
Sales Strategies and Reverse Prospecting in Real Estate
09
Marketing Homes For Sale 
10
The Right Mindset in a Real Estate Transaction

Does Selling Your Home With a Realtor® Net You More Money?

Selling your home For Sale By Owner (FSBO as it’s referred to in the Real Estate world) makes a lot of sense for homeowners on the surface. It’s an opportunity to save on the commission you’d normally pay a Realtor® to sell your home. It’s the number one reason someone sells their home For The Owner: to save on the commission. By saving on the commission, the data shows you’re losing on the net and that a Real Estate Agent is worth their commission. Here's the data if you want to sell your home in Raleigh

You Net More Money When You Use A Realtor®, Numbers Don’t Lie:

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Statistics

For Sale By Owner Statistics

It’s interesting that Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, openly says he loves his Realtor®, right? Unless, of course, his Realtor® was netting him more money than he could by himself.

Did you know the Founder of ForSaleByOwner.com used a Realtor® to NET MORE MONEY?

Colby Sambrotto, the Founder of ForSaleByOwner.Com, attempted to sell his home to the owner. At a list price of 2 million dollars, and after 180 days of no success, Colby decided to list it with Realtor® Jesse Buckler. Jesse sold the home for $150,000 more than the original price (an increase of 7.5% on the initial listing price).

Let’s connect the dots…. The same person making a living from people trying to sell their home by themselves is NETTING MORE MONEY when using a Realtor®.

89% of For Sale By Owners will eventually list with a Realtor®

The reason a high percentage of FSBO’s eventually list with a Realtor® is the same reason why a high percentage of Realtors® don’t last long in the business. It’s not as easy as it looks.

If 89% of For Sale By Owner’s eventually listing with a Realtor®, and the average For Sale By Owner sale is $46,000 less than an agent-assisted sale, are you still going to spend marketing dollars, time, and effort trying to sell your home yourself?

If so, there’s several other reasons for you to consider letting a professional Realtor® handle the sale of your home. The 3-4% you’re potentially saving by not hiring a listing agent could be lost when it comes time to negotiate with a buyer's agent… or, worse, an investor who’s deal hunting.

Over 88% of Buyers are using a Realtor

9 out of every ten ready, willing, and able buyers are working with a Realtor. In this case, you’ll have to pay a buyer's agent’s commission or miss out on a large pool of buyers.

That commission you’re going to pay is to someone who will use their experience to negotiate AGAINST you. They will use their experience to negotiate another 3-5% off your list price. If you don’t give in to their negotiations, the Realtor® may take their clients elsewhere. When working with a listing agent, they are professional in negotiations and will work to defend your sales price and preferred terms.

So, are you saving on the commission?

Realtor's Foresee Problems

Almost every day I talk with For Sale By Owner’s and the ones I speak with are often frustrated because their home was ‘under contract.’ When you sell For Sale By Owner and your home is ‘under contract,’ what does that mean? Often, an investor may wait till the last day before he tells you EVERYTHING he found wrong with your home and why the initial offer is no longer suitable. They now want an additional $25,000 off their initial offer because of the ‘problems.’ You politely say ‘NO WAY,’ and you’re left feeling frustrated. You also have no idea that the ‘under contract’ was never ‘in contract’ it was an experienced investor looking for a deal.

Have you heard of the companies that buy houses fast, for cash, no matter the condition? They tend to PREY on For Sale By Owner’s and can’t wait to get to the closing table because that’s when your home is either for sale or it isn’t… it was never actually ‘under contract.’

Let’s say it wasn’t an investor shopping for a deal, and there is a long list of problems… who has all the resources and experience to handle problems like these in such a short period? A Realtor® will facilitate quick identification of issues and their resolution to 'save' the deal.

Other Dangers when You Sell For Sale By Owner:

The dangers of selling your home for sale by the owner go far beyond losing equity. They place homeowners at risk of unaccompanied strangers, thieves, and potentially worse. You are giving access to your home to just anyone.

Often Real Estate transactions end up in legal battles, costing you attorney fees that you wouldn’t have paid had you worked with a licensed professional. It’s not because the 11 percent of FSBOs who make it to the closing table aren’t intelligent people... they just haven’t been through all the experiences a professional Realtor® has.

Realtors® can foresee issues before they occur, which in turn prevents legal troubles, home inspection problems, negotiating table concerns, and strategies that will ultimately give you the best chance of closing for a higher net.

Realtors® Know Other Realtors®

The other day, a Realtor® friend listed a former FSBO (For Sale By Owner), and the home was sold BEFORE it hit the MLS. Now everyone thinks, “Wow, if it’s that easy, how come the For Sale By Owner didn’t execute the deal himself?”

It makes sense, right? How easy Realtor® made the sale look is naturally going to make people think he didn’t earn the commission.

My friend contacted another Realtor®, whose niche market was in that specific property type, and invited him and his client to look. A simple relationship built on networking with other Realtors® caused the home to sell. Often, a Realtor® will post their listing on social media, and because of their network of Realtors®, it reaches the ‘right’ audience, who in turn shares that information with the buyers they are working with.

So how did a Realtor® close the deal quickly when the For Sale By Owner had already invested marketing dollars into the home?

Knowing the specific type of buyer and the Realtors® who work with them played a crucial role in executing this real estate sale. Asking a Buyer’s agent who’s already working with specific types of Buyers to come and take a look at the property is something that comes with experience, network, and relationships within the Real Estate community.

REALTORS® Transact in Real Estate Deals, Networks, and Relationships Every Day

When you do something every day, you become a master of the things you do. Realtors® earn money from commissions, so out of necessity, they become masters of Real Estate marketing, sales, transactions, terms and conditions, and other things that don’t hold a tangible dollar value. However, they play a crucial role in sales.

What do you do for work? Do you think a Realtor® could do it as well as you do?

My Uncle is a heart surgeon, and I wouldn’t ever try to give myself heart surgery, so why not trust the professionals to protect your equity, the same way a doctor protects your health?

A great Realtor® should work diligently to maximize their seller's return on their real estate investment.

Sales Strategies and Reverse Prospecting in Real Estate

Without giving away all of my selling techniques in one post, here is the best one that no FSBO can use. It’s called Reverse Prospecting. 

Reverse prospecting is the act of prospecting buyers agents within the MLS who are working with ready, willing, and able buyers who are searching for a property with your criteria. This strategy is not available to anyone except a listing agent. They identify who is shopping for their listing and can contact them to connect.

Knowing the specific type of buyer, as well as the Realtors® who work with those specific type of buyers play a crucial role in the execution of many real estate sale. Asking a Buyer’s agent, who’s already working with specific types of Buyers, to come and take a look at the property before it hit the MLS comes with experience, network, and relationships within the Real Estate community.

Marketing Homes For Sale 

Who knows better how to market a home for sale than someone who's been doing it almost every day and is constantly surrounded by the best marketing approaches in the industry?

One of the biggest mistakes sellers make, especially for homes for sale by owners, is taking photos with their phone camera. That type of photography doesn't sell homes; this type of photography does.

The first thing I tell my clients to do is to google their address. After listing with me, I asked them about a week later to google their address again. At this point, the first page of Google is loaded with great marketing content for their address. Video presentations, contextual posts, pictures, and information that any home buyer wants to see

A great Realtor® is going to proactively prospect buyers for you by leveraging the Realtor® network through reverse prospecting and using every marketing and sales technique they have developed over their careers. They will be with you every step of the way, fighting to protect your equity.

The Right Mindset in a Real Estate Transaction

Selling your home is about having the right mindset. It’s about being confident in your numbers, marketing, and follow-up, and that you have dotted every I and crossed every t before you reach the closing table.

A Real Estate transaction is not rocket science, it’s a roller coaster ride, with tons of moving parts and uphill and downhill battles. If you aren’t careful, the roller coaster will take you for a ride you didn’t sign up for

Those are 10 Reasons why Selling Your Home With a Realtor® Will Net You More Money:

We are in this business to help people with real estate transactions here in the Raleigh area. If you want to sell for sale by owner, you can print out some of the forms you will need on our For Sale By Owner Resource Guide—North Carolina. All we ask is that if you are in the market for a Realtor®, you give me the opportunity to interview for the job, whether it's buying or selling real estate.

If you enjoyed this post, please share it. As a Realtor®, it's our job to ensure information reaches a large audience, just like we do when we list homes for homeowners :).

WRITTEN BY
Ryan Fitzgerald
Ryan Fitzgerald
Realtor

Ryan Fitzgerald is a top Realtor®, founder and owner of Raleigh Realty, one of the Triangle’s fastest-growing and most innovative real estate brokerages. Driven by a mission to be the best—not the biggest—brokerage in Raleigh, Ryan has built Raleigh Realty into a firm known for its cutting-edge marketing, high-performing agents, and culture rooted in collaboration, growth, and excellence.

Raleigh Realty

Under Ryan’s leadership, Raleigh Realty has become a top boutique brokerage in Raleigh-Durham, serving clients across Wake County and the surrounding areas. Raleigh Realty stands apart for its:

  • Top-Tier Agents – Every Realtor on the team is hand-selected for their skill, professionalism, and client-first approach. Raleigh Realty isn’t about quantity—it’s about quality.

  • Award-Winning Website – RaleighRealty.com is consistently ranked among the best real estate websites with incredible user experience, cutting-edge IDX technology, and hyper-local guides that help buyers and sellers navigate the market.

  • Inbound Lead Generation – With a strong focus on SEO and digital marketing, the brokerage generates a steady flow of organic leads, giving agents the opportunity to grow thriving businesses.

  • Supportive Culture – Ryan emphasizes mentorship, accountability, and autonomy—no micromanaging, just the right systems and tools for agents to succeed.

  • Community Focus – From neighborhood spotlights to relocation guides, Raleigh Realty is committed to being a resource for both buyers and sellers as they make one of life’s biggest decisions.

The firm continues to expand its reach, with the goal of 100 agents and $1 billion in annual sales volume by 2030—all while staying true to its boutique, client-centered values.

Awards & Recognition

Ryan already has notable public credentials and prestige:

  • He has been featured in outlets such as Forbes, Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, among others (as mentioned on the site).

  • Realtor Magazine named him a “Top 30 Under 30” in the country (as noted on his Raleigh Realty page).

  • Raleigh Realty is widely acknowledged in the local real estate community for its digital prowess and thought leadership.

  • The company is consistently ranked among the top real estate firms in Raleigh and is known for having one of the highest-traffic real estate websites in the region.

Community Involvement & Giving Back

Ryan’s leadership extends far beyond the closing table. He has built Raleigh Realty to be a company that actively gives back to the community and invests in making Raleigh a better place to live.

  • The Green Chair Project – Ryan and Raleigh Realty proudly support The Green Chair Project, a local nonprofit that provides essential furnishings and household items to families transitioning out of homelessness, crisis, or disaster. By partnering with this organization, Ryan helps ensure families have the comfort and dignity of a furnished home.

  • Food Donations & Drives – Raleigh Realty regularly organizes and contributes to food donation efforts, partnering with local pantries and organizations to help fight food insecurity across Wake County. These efforts bring agents, clients, and neighbors together to support those in need.

  • Local Events & Client Appreciation – Raleigh Realty hosts family-friendly gatherings such as pumpkin patch outings, coffee + donut socials, and seasonal celebrations designed to strengthen neighborhood bonds.

  • Supporting Schools & Youth Programs – Ryan partners with local schools and youth organizations to provide resources, sponsorships, and mentorship opportunities, ensuring that the next generation has access to growth and guidance.

  • Small Business Advocacy – Raleigh Realty proudly highlights and partners with local small businesses, amplifying their visibility and reinforcing Raleigh’s reputation as a vibrant place to live and work.

For Ryan, success is measured not just in sales, but in the lasting relationships and community impact Raleigh Realty leaves behind.

AgentLoft – Powering the Next Generation of Realtors

Ryan is also the visionary behind AgentLoft, a SaaS platform designed to help Realtors nationwide build their brand and generate leads. AgentLoft websites combine IDX technology, SEO expertise, and AI integration to give agents the competitive edge they need.

Personal Mission

As a proud father to his daughter Emma, Ryan’s mission is bigger than business. He’s dedicated to building a brokerage and a platform that create opportunity and stability for families, clients, and agents alike. His approach blends entrepreneurship with empathy—ensuring that Raleigh Realty continues to grow not just in sales volume, but in reputation, trust, and impact.


👉 Whether you’re buying or selling a home, or you’re a Realtor looking for the right brokerage to grow your business, Raleigh Realty—under Ryan Fitzgerald’s leadership—offers the expertise, technology, and community-minded culture to help you succeed.

Chapters
01
You Net More Money When You Use A Realtor®, Numbers Don’t Lie:
02
% of For Sale By Owners will eventually list with a Realtor®
03
Over 88% of Buyers are using a Realtor
04
Realtor's Foresee Problems
05
Other Dangers when You Sell For Sale By Owner:
06
Realtors® Know Other Realtors®
07
REALTORS® Transact in Real Estate Deals, Networks, and Relationships Every Day
08
Sales Strategies and Reverse Prospecting in Real Estate
09
Marketing Homes For Sale 
10
The Right Mindset in a Real Estate Transaction
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