Every home that is for sale should be a for sale by owner. All homeowners should take the opportunity to market their home to friends and family, co-workers and social acquaintances. Many homes are sold the old-fashioned way, networking. But the traditional agent system has not promoted this side of networking. The high price of commissions have left homeowners thinking that the agent should be handling all of those responsibilities including doing plenty of networking, because frankly, in most situations, the homeowner is not rewarded when they find their own buyer, they still pay the full commission to their agent that they negotiated or the commission that is stated by the broker that owns the company.
Agent's structures for most brokerages are that the seller pays a full commission when any buyer is procured. It does not matter where the buyer came from; the seller pays the full commission. So, without the incentive of a reduced commission and the fact that the commissions are higher than ever because property values have increased, less energy is actually focused on selling the home. The seller hands the transaction to the agent and the agent does not focus on every buyer in the market.
Every homeowner should send pictures and video to their friends and family announcing and then reminding everyone that they know that their house is for sale. Many times because there is a respect between the homeowner and the friend or acquaintance, the friend will recommend the house to someone they know. They may say "I know Joe and Sally very well and they really take care of their home."
Also, there are buyers around the country who search for sale by owner properties first before they search properties listed by agents because they are looking for a great deal. Sometimes it is not even a great deal that they want; they just don't want to have the commission added to the price of the house, which is what happens in most cases. Most sellers are willing to reduce the price of the house if they are not paying concessions like commission.
So why aren't more brokerages flexible in their commission by allowing the seller to pay less money in commission if they pay find their own buyer. When homeowners focus on selling their home while using tools and expertise that they don't have access to like the MLS and experience of doing more than a few contracts that many agents offer, they win by getting their home sold quicker.
