The 2003 National Association of RealtorsŪ Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers survey, expanded for the Massachusetts Association of RealtorsŪ to specifically cover Massachusetts (and the other New England states), discovered that the median price for homes sold with the help of a real estate professional was 21% higher than for those sold by their owners without professional assistance. Homes sold with the assistance of a real estate professional sold for $175,000 a full $30,000 more than the $145,000 owners (FSBOs) received for homes sold without professional help.

The survey also revealed that 72% of homeowners selling without assistance used yard signs to market their homes while 61% used newspaper ads and 41% used open houses as their principal marketing tools. On the other hand, an overwhelming majority of buyers, 86% nationally and 91% in Massachusetts, relied on real estate agents to buy a home.

A smaller percentage of homeowners selling without assistance rely on the internet to sell their homes. Those who promote this as a good idea fail to note, as the survey does clearly, that nearly 8 of 10 buyers who initially used the Internet to search for a home ultimately employed a real estate professional to complete their purchase. Knowing how and where to market your property is a very important part of what professional agents provide their clients. Not fully understanding how to best reach the market can lead to costly mistakes.

Properly pricing your home may be even more important. Price it too high and lose many potential buyers; price it too low and give away a portion of its value. Correctly pricing your home for sale, right from the beginning, may be the single most important decision a seller has to make. Real estate professionals value properties every day with clear, complete, first hand knowledge. They monitor the public's reaction to your offering price, report these reactions to you on a timely basis and advise you on the best course of action for a sale when you want it and for the best possible price. They advise, you decide.

Open houses and showings that sellers do without assistance can expose them to personal and property risks and/or waste their valuable time because the prospective buyer may not be qualified to buy their home. Professional agents help avoid these problems by pre-qualifying buyers and accompanying them to the home.

The survey also found that the paperwork required for real estate transactions these days can be complex and often very confusing to both buyers and sellers. Sellers find it the most troubling part of selling without professional help. Real estate professionals and your attorney are important to completing a transaction safely and efficiently.

After signing a Purchase and Sale Agreement, scheduling and accompanying inspections, insuring that contingencies have been satisfied, tracking the mortgage process and getting to the closing can be complicated and time consuming. Real estate professionals understand the process, are experienced at efficiently directing it every day and, by helping you through it, allow you to concentrate on your normal routine.

From properly pricing and intelligently marketing your property to getting through the negotiations, paperwork, inspections, contingencies and the closing, a real estate professional is the choice of 91% of sellers in Massachusetts. The sale of your single most valuable asset should be treated with great care by professionals trained to sell your home on your schedule and at its highest possible price. Why would you settle for less?