Flat Fee MLS Listing

Flat Fee MLS Listing is a way of listing your home on the MLS and various public web sites, such as Realtor.com®, for a Flat Fee (paid at time of listing), instead of a commission of ±5-6% which is normally paid at closing.  If a buyer’s broker sells your home, you would still have to pay that broker ±2½-3% but sometimes there is no buyer’s broker and the flat fee alone ends up being your total cost to sell. Research has shown that this is the most cost effective way to market your home on the MLS. The reason that listing you home on the MLS for a Flat Fee is most cost effective is because you are getting all the marketing services that “traditional agents” use for a much lower cost. Most Flat Fee MLS Listing companies even allow you to sell your home as a For Sale By Owner while being listed. This is a great way to save even more money because a potential buyer may see your home on a web site, and contact you directly, saving you thousands in commissions. Traditional real estate companies will sometimes let you sell your own home, but more often than not you will owe that company a high commission.  With Flat Fee MLS companies, you will only ever owe a partial (½) commission to the broker that finds a buyer and only if there is such a broker; never if you find the buyer without another brokers assistance. Flat Fee MLS Listing is the best way to sell your home, period!

You will find many Flat Fee MLS Listing companies on the internet, so how do you know a legitimate company, when you find one. Flat Fee MLS Marketing has done the homework for you. There is a national group of Flat Fee MLS brokers that has formed a co-op. The name of the organization is Broker Direct MLS.  They can be found on the web at  www.BrokerDirectMLS.com. Broker Direct MLS has been in existence since 2003 while many of the brokers in the group have been providing flat fee listing services since the 90s. Also, Broker Direct MLS brokers mean just what they say.  They are Broker Direct; no middleman unlicensed referral companies.  Deal Direct and save with a locally licensed broker. All the brokers in the group have been in the Flat Fee MLS Listing business for a long time and are very successful. There are other good companies out there, but all the brokers in www.BrokerDirectMLS.com are time tested and very good at what they do.

A flat fee mls broker based in Michigan City, Indiana that offers flat fee mls services starting at $399. They serve 41 Indiana counties and 10 Illinois counties and offer additional services including full representation in negotiations starting at 1%. The principal broker is Brian Waters, and for more information contact:

Mentor Listing Realty
Indiana License #PB20600128
Illinois License #075.0116156
Principal Broker: Brian Waters: (219) 472-4457
Toll Free: (866) 269-1006
Main: (219) 472-4277
Fax: (219) 861-1049

Missouri residents have two choices to list their home on the MLS and Realtor.com.  In the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield areas, home owners can get their house listed for $299 while maintaining their For Sale by Owner Status and receiving state mandated minimum services like assistance in accepting offers and writing counter offers.  For $500 up front and 1/3% at close, St. Louis area residents can get listed on the MLS, Realtor.com and STLToday.com.  Plus an experienced agent will come to your house to assist with staging, pricing, listing contracts and will enter your house into the MLS while you wait.  Finally, for 1/3% of the sales price at close, they will negotiate the contract on your behalf and take care of all your closing paperwork.  With both programs you can save on the buyer’s agent commission if you sell your house on your own. Johnson Realty has been highlighted in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, St. Louis Magazine and the St. Louis Business Journal.

License number #2005033175
Website JohnsonRealtyofStLouis.com
14434 S Outer 40Chesterfield, MO  63017
Phone (314) 726-3174
Fax (314) 726-3184
Hours: 9:00am-6:00pm M-F
           12:00pm-4:00pm S-S

WhyMLS.com is a well recognized and established local Texas Flat Fee MLS Listing Company. It appears to be the largest Texas flat fee MLS provider.  This company has been in existence since 1999, saving consumers thousands in commissions. The broker of record is Jack McLemore #0460808. They service most areas in Texas: Dallas, Fort Worth, DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Tyler, Corpus Christi, Waco, College Station, Denton, and many more cities for Texas Flat Fee MLS Listing.  Minimum Service Law is upheld and provided, as required, by Texas Sate Law, at www.WhyMLS.com 

Home office is in Texas.

Web Site: www.WhyMLS.com

Office: 1-800-433-5206 

Email: info@whymls.com

This company offers MLS packages starting at $349 for the state of Alabama. Upgrades include multiple photos, lockboxes, Multiple MLS areas.The Broker on record is Jeremy Jacobs. Licensed in Alabama (#84449-0)   For more information contact:  Amerisell Realty
www.mls449.com
2103 Florence Blvd.
Florence AL 35630
256-627-7168

In Tennessee, folks can try Broker Direct MLS of Tennessee. They offer MLS listing packages starting at $379. The broker/Realtor of record is Susanne Flynn and her license can be verified at the Tennessee Real Estate Commission.

Also, the following testimonial was provided by one of our readers, Scotty:

“I recently used a flat fee MLS service when I sold my house last month in Tennessee. She was very good and the service is just as she described. I did all of the work and saved over $4000 by not having to pay another 3% commission. I’ve been telling everyone about what she offers.”

www.ResultsMLS.com
Tennessee License #303511
Susanne Flynn, Realtor
(615) 822-5808 Direct
(615) 855-1151 Office
(866) 232-1618 Fax
info@BrokerDirectmlsTN.com

www.Florida-Flat-Fee-MLS.com  is one of the most prevalent and dependable Flat Fee MLS listing services in the State of Florida. They have been in business since 1995 and have been providing discounted Real estate services saving sellers thousands of dollars since the year 2000 to many happy customers. They also provide Virtual tours, Real Estate signs, lockboxes and Buyer lead notification. Listings services start at $199. The Broker of record is Douglas Addeo Lic # BK0559732 and can be reached toll free at 877-273-2169.

Douglas Addeo, BROKER and REALTOR®
___________________________________________
Community Realty Associates
Office (561) 852-1341
Fax    (561)477-2465
eMail  FlaMls@Comcast.net

MLS2U.Com is a website of Continental Real Estate Group, Inc., a licensed real estate brokerage covering several East Coast states, including Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.  They offer a variety of add on services including local Realtor lockboxes, virtual tours, fax on demand, and caller ID tracking on calls.

Licensed in CT (#REB.0756009), DC (#CO9835517), DE (#R2-0003013), FL (# BK3201465), MA (#145125), MD (#611425), NH (#062752), NJ (#8734252), NY (#32EI0910766), PA (#RM062792A), RI (#B15997) and VA (#0225 100252). For more information, contact:

MultipleListingSystem.Com
Continental Real Estate Group, Inc.
(877) 996-5728

Apollo Properties covers the following Utah MLS systems: Wasatch Front Regional MLS for Central & Northern Utah Properties,  Park City MLS for Summit County Properties, Washington County MLS for Southern Utah Properties and  the Iron County MLS for Cedar City & Central Utah Properties. Since 1999′ Over 1800+ properties have been posted.  Flat Fee Service currently offered at $295. All Real Estate marketing tools are available.

Work directly with Lynn Fillmore, the Principal Broker, UTAH License # 5478881-PB
 
For more information contact:
www.UtahBroker.net
Town & Country Apollo Properties, LLC
1360 S. Carterville Rd, Orem UT  84097
(866) 824-1559 ext. 4

Real Estate Advocates is the oldest and largest flat fee company located in South Carolina. Since 1991 it serves Anderson,Beaufort,Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Rock Hill, and Spartanburg. It not only offers a flat fee MLS w/By Owner option, but a free Multiple Listing w/By owner option . Buyer Rebates are also offered of up to $5000 any place in the state. Their competitive advantage which differentiates them from referral companies is their 25 local agents. They offer limited to full service w/a menu of services to offer our clients every meaningful marketing avenue at a flat dollar cost rather than a percentage. Their signs and other advertising can include the owner’s phone number as an option in most markets. They require no long term listing contracts and have other flexible programs making them an excellent choice for someone who understands how real estate works.

Broker: Robert Mandel, BA , MS, Ph.D.
CEO and Broker in Charge
Company: Real Estate Advocates
Address 1818 Bull Street
Columbia,S.C. 29201
Phone: 803-779-0012
Fax: 866-885-0269
License #: S.C.18403
Website: SCFlatFeeMultipleListing.Com

This company offers a wide range of Flat Fee MLS Listing services: For $299 - $499 they will list your home in the Okahoma City and Tulsa MLS areas.  They also offer home buying services, and contract negotiations. Their Flat Fee MLS service has options such as “showcase” listings on Realtor.com^®.  The Real Estate Place is also a member of the Broker Direct MLS cooperative advertising trade group and can be found at ListByOwnerOnMLS.Com, AmeriSellRealty.Com and BrokerDirectMLS.Com.

The broker is Steve Sizemore.

Website: www.Entourage1.com

Phone:
       Oklahoma City (405) 348-1155
       Tulsa 918-398-9390
Email: Info@Entourage1.com
Fax: 866-454-2309

This 6 year-old company based in Alpharetta, GA serves the entire metro Atlanta area and has licensed its business model to over 250 cities around the country, making them accessible for referrals.

They provide 70 points of marketing, including listing clients in both MLS & FMLS, the two statewide multiple listing services, giving in-home consultations, providing expert contract negotiations and conducting property showings for $500.

Buyer clients can earn a Buyer Cash Bonus up to ½ of their commission.

Duffy Realty is brokered by nationally known radio personality and consumer advocate, Rhonda Duffy.  Join Rhonda at www.RhondaDuffyBlog.com .

They cover Fulton, Cobb, Gwinnett, Dekalb, Forsyth, Cherokee, Clayton, Henry, Fayette, Rockdale, Douglas, Jackson, Carroll, Dawson counties.

Duffy Realty
Rhonda Duffy
License # 44692
10 Cumming St.
Alpharetta, GA 30004
Fax: 678-892-1180
Phone: 678-366-7846
Website: DuffyRealtyofAtlanta.com 
E-mail: Broker@DuffyRealtyofAtlanta.com

ListFor98.com a.k.a. AmeriSell Realty covers the entire state of Michigan except the western U.P. They have been a Flat Fee Realtor for over 5 years and have programs starting at just $98 to list in the local Multiple Listing Service &  Realtor.com®.

As far as ease of use, this site is it.  It goes right to the programs, lays out everything in a simple straightforward fashion and the broker even provides his cell phone; something we have not found from any other brokers on this site in all 50 states.  It appears this broker puts customer service first.

Listfor98.com provides offers several different listing programs.  In addition, they give the seller every conceivable marketing feature regardless of the program you choose.

They also offer full service as an option for only ⅓of 1% (.0033) to process the offer from start to finish. They refer all buyer leads directly to sellers. AmeriSell Realty also rebates half of their commission to buyers payable at closing if you use them as a buyers agent.  The broker of record is Jeff Kermath Lic# 6505330456

ListFor98.com
a.k.a. AmeriSell Realty
490 Hunters Crest
Saline, MI 48176
Call 888-909-LIST (5478)
Fax 866-358-1349

This company is licensed in and services Wisconsin. The major metropolitan areas that are covered include: Metro Milwaukee, Madison, Janesville, Beloit, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond Du Lac. Their flat fee listings (MLS-Only) start at $450, and include professional signage, lockboxes, and more. If homeowners desire more assistance, they offer Negotiation Packages as well as a full service plan for 3.9% (WI - Metro Milwaukee area only). Since their start-up in 2004, Brendy Realty has saved clients over $5.4 million in commissions & fees.

The broker of record is Robert Brendemuehl, and he is licensed in WI (#52273-90). For more information, contact:

www.BrendyRealty.com
Brendy Realty Inc
Mequon, WI
p# 414-228-0499
f# 866-433-1601

HomeWise Real Estate services sellers in 8 MLS areas covering 59 of Ohio’s 88 counties.  With HomeWise, consumers can choose the services they need and pay for those services.  They offer 3 listing options:
Basic for $399
Maximum for $499 
Plus for $499 & ½% at closing which includes contract negotiation.

Web Site: www.BrokerDirectMLSOhio.com
Office: 800-579-1979
Email: Sharon@HomeWiseMLS.com
Ohio Broker #358029

CENTURY 21 Clickit is the largest and most successful real estate flat fee listing service in the state of North Carolina according to Real Trends.  They offer 6 month listings on local North Carolina MLS services for as little as $359.  Your listing would appear on Realtor.com as well as most of your local public real estate web sites where buyers shop for homes.  Other services available are the Traditional CENTURY 21 Yard Signs, Featured Tours, brochure boxes, lock boxes.  They are one of the few Flat Fee Listing services actually licensed in the state of North Carolina with memberships in The North Carolina Association of Realtors and over 20 different local Realtor Associations MLS’s. License number C13524, 216309.

The website is www.century21clickit.com or call -1-888-875-4218

HomeWorksRE.com

Serving consumers since 1999 this company is one of the pioneers of the Flat Fee MLS listing model. Time tested and successful this company now serves five states, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.

Homeworks Real Estate embraces a service model focused on “give the consumer what they want.” Service options range from a low $259 for a basic MLS listing or $395 for a full package of services which includes a sign, forms, extended listing duration and phone support.

Homeworks Real Estate Inc. enters the client’s contact information into an automated phone database system that allows home shoppers to contact the owner directly from websites that only allow the listing agent’s phone. The idea is to give the seller the best chance to sell with the least cost.  www.HomeWorksRE.com

MLS2U.Com is a website of Continental Real Estate Group, Inc., a licensed real estate brokerage covering several East Coast states, including Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Their listings start from $149-$299 depending on the state and county. They offer a variety of add on services including local Realtor lockboxes, virtual tours, fax on demand, and caller ID tracking on calls.

The broker of record is Derek Eisenberg and he is licensed in CT (#REB.0756009), DC (#CO9835517), DE (#R2-0003013), FL (# BK3201465), MA (#145125), MD (#611425), NH (#062752), NJ (#8734252), NY (#32EI0910766), PA (#RM062792A), RI (#B15997) and VA (#0225 100252). For more information, contact:

mls2u.com
Continental Real Estate Group, Inc.
(877) 996-5728

Broker Direct Company is Colorado & New Mexico’s premier Flat Fee MLS Listing firm.   Their prices start at $299 for MLS listings and they also offer full service upgrades. The broker of record is Schaunon Winter and her licenses can be verified at the Colorado Real Estate Commission and the New Mexico Real Estate Commission.
Colorada License #IC40037602
New Mexico License #16755

www.BrokerDirectCo.com
877.MLS.FSBO Toll Free
303.648.4000 Phone
877.657.3727 Fax
schaunon@brokerdirectco.com

 www.WhyFlatFee.com is home based in Kentucky Click on link for more information.

Prello Realty is a recognized and established Illinois based Flat Fee MLS Listing Company, they have been in business since 2001 and have sold over $150 million dollars of property in 2007. They cover all Illinois counties and their flat fee listing service is reasonably priced at $299.  They also offer a variety of add on products and services including Realtor lockboxes, virtual tours, brochure boxes, and more. The broker of record is Robert Picciariello (#075.0105900).  For more information, contact:
 
www.PrelloRealty.com
Prello Realty, Inc.
2712 N. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, Il. 60614
773-472-8900
Robert Picciariello
Real Estate Broker
Prello Realty, Inc,
office: 773-472-8900
fax: 312-453-0704

Wisconsin Flat Fee MLS Listing - This company covers over 50 of Wisconsin’s 72 counties.. Their listings start at $399. They offer a variety of add on services including virtual tours and showing service. The broker of record is Mark Rotherham and he is licensed in WI (#44040-090). For more information, contact:
 
www.LowFee2.com 
Quorum Enterprises, Inc.
1017 Tommark St.
Green Bay, WI  54304
866-569-3332

Boston Entry Only serves greater Boston with flat fee MLS Listing Services.  MLS PIN, the MLS for the area offers both limited service and entry only.  Boston Entry Only fulfills  their title.  They do not act as a seller’s agent or provide any supplementary services.  They are bare bones which is appealing to some people that really don’t want any other services.  With the MLS flat fee program, the Seller will be responsible for handling his/her home sale, which includes all home showings, open houses, negotiations, and paperwork like escrow, title, inspections, disclosures, appraisals, etc. If Sellers feel that they need a professional for certain aspects of the transaction such as negotiations, drawing up contracts, holding escrow, legal advice, or advice on the official offer, they recommend hiring an attorney to assist in some or all of those areas.

Broker Edmund Wong
BostonEntryOnly.com
25 Dorchester Ave Box 52543  
Boston, MA 02205
Phone: 617-830-9870  
Fax: 617-848-2600

The concept of flat fee real estate services has probably been around a pretty long time, and so you’re probably wondering - what’s the big deal???

Historically the reason for the need of real estate agents was similar to the need for stock brokers - in order to have a market with some degree of liquidity, there needed to be a group of highly specialized people that pooled together the available information to both participate in and actively create the market. However, in modern times this pool of paper and indiviudal communication has largely been replaced by computer databases.

The result of this in the financial industry, for example, is that the old fashioned stock broker who took a sizable commission in order to merely execute your stock transaction via a computer interface, has been largely replaced by online trading services.

This is not to say that there were not certain stock brokers who truly added value by providing good advice, and I think it’s fairly safe to say that these same individuals who did offer good advice have adapted to the growing industry of financial consultants to continue doing what they were previously doing.

What this means, at least in the case study of the financial industry, is that if a person who was formerly a stock broker could provide truly valuable financial advice, then they could probably continue to make lots of money by charging high hourly rates for their services, similar to lawyer, doctors, and accountants. However, for the many people who were previously able to charge high rates without adding value, they have had to face finding alternative employment.

I think a similar shakeout is going to happen in the real esate industry as the growth in online information services provides consumers with increasing amounts of knowledge previously only available to real estate agents. These newly educated consumers are going to ask themselves, why should a real estate agent get thousands of dollars for entering my house into a database???

And so they will turn to the growing cadre of brokers offering flat fee MLS services, and so the revolution begins.

[tags] flat fee MLS, flat fee mls [/tags]

A flat fee broker in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Current sale prices for MLS entry start at $299, and the broker of record is Jason Saphire. For more information, contact:

EntryOnly.com
The Entry Only Listing Service
304 Newbury St. #346
Boston, MA
Phone: 877-249-LIST
Fax: 866-810-9348

This firm offers flat fee mls listings in Arkansas from $349.

Thomas  DeBoth
7122 Highway 300
Little Rock, AR 72223
Office 501-868-6073
Cell 501-658-8013
Fax 866-210-9707

Wisconson Flat Fee MLS Listing - This company is based out of Milwaukee, WI, and offers flat fee mls listings in the Milwaukee MLS, Madison MLS, or Green Bay MLS and serves 27 counties in Wisconsin. Their prices start at $449, and the broker is Ryan C Sellars and holds license #53813 and #701483.

SellUSAHouses.com
e-mail: CustomerService@SellUSAHouses.com
phone: (414) 238-3972

List homes in the Triangle area MLS and as Showcase listings on Realtor.com for $399. Other a la carte services are offered as well depending on the seller’s needs.

- Cassondra Liles, Broker/Owner
- www.CassondraLiles.com
- Licensed in NC
- License #197259

A California based flat fee mls website that I’ve personally found helpful in answering some of my questions is e-liststate.com which offers mls listings in numerous counties across California. Prices start at $179 for realtor.com only, and $399 for local MLS listings. They also offer one of the best coverages available for California’s local MLS associations.

e-ListState.com
Leslie Young, Broker
DRE No. 01430215

In an effort to curb the success of minimum service offices that offer things such as flat fee mls listings, real estate lobbies in several states have convinced their regulators to set state-wide minimum service standards.

I personally think this is completely anti-competitive behaviour that will only hurt the public image of real estate agents over the longterm (disclosure: I hold a license but don’t currently practice). I hope the DOJ steps up to the plate with it’s lawsuit.

Click for more info.

[tag]minimum service, flat feemls, flat fee MLS, flat fee[/tag]

I just ran across Meetup.com’s real estate networking group, and was quite impressed. There are nearly 16,000 people in 166 cities available to meet with, and there’s nothing like talking about real estate to learn more about it and find people to do deals with.

Whether you are a novice or an expert, with so many people involved, there is bound to be someone that you can relate to and bounce ideas around with or swap stories. As the title says, I think real estate networking just got easier.

A flat fee listing broker based out of New Orleans, Louisiana and offering services in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Their flat fee mls services start at $349, and include exposure on “Realtor.Com, AOL, Wall Street Journal, MSN, Oodle, Trulia, and more.” The broker of record is Jude Thomas Smith who holds license Arkansas/Louisisana license #PB00059873 and Mississippi license #16056.

SharpMLS.com
818 SAINT PETER STREET
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70122
Office Phone: (888) 657-5833
Office Fax: (866) 466-8629

A southern California based company that is a member of the 5 major MLS systems. Their prices start at $249 and the broker of record is Tim Gilberg, license #01333424.

SmallFeeRealty.com
Timothy Ray Gilberg Broker
2033 San Elijo Ave Suite 254
Cardiff, CA 92007
Toll Free 888-854-2403 Extension 804, Or Phone 760-809-4347
Fax 760-476-1627

MLS Entry:
• Entered into the Carolina Multiple Listing Service (CMLS) for $400
• 6 months on the initial listing term.
• Additional time is available month-to-month at NO additional charge.
• You may withdraw at any time, if not under contract.
Chester Martin
NC Broker License #171954
BestFlatFee.com

In Kansas, this company offers flat fee MLS listings for $399 for a 6 month listing. The person to contact is Edgar Davis of the Avenue Real Estate Group, license #SP00223410. For more information:

Edgar Davis
EdgarsList.com
Avenue Real Estate Group
(816) 298-0081
(913) 362-0727
ed@soldbyme.com

Well I think the name pretty much says it all. They’re located in Florida, and the parent company is the United Realty Group of St Lucie County, Inc. Their license # is CQ1014881 and can be verified at MyFloridaLicense.com and their services are available in the counties of Brevard, Broward, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsboro County, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami Dade County, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange County, Osceola, Palm Beach County, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Punta Gorda, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumpter and Volusia.

398MLS.com
8406 SOUTH U S HIGHWAY 1
PORT SAINT LUCIE Florida 34952
Tel. 772-528-6054
FAX 772-219-0332

This firm offers flat fee listings in Oklahoma City.  They provide informed, professional real estate services to buyers and sellers in the greater Oklahoma City area.
Brokerage License # 155039
Frank Aufiero
Salesperson’s License # 154899

A flat fee mls broker based in Chicago, Illinois that offers services in the northern Illinois area. Their flat fee program starts at $349 and they claim to be part of a network that has listed over $400,000,000 in homes. The broker’s name is Bruce P. Golden and his license can be checked at the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Update: The second website listed below, from this same broker, has a cute dedication to his cat named Brandy.
illiniMLS.com / 4SaleMLS.com
Bruce P. Golden
773-248-4905
866-349-FSBO
list@illinimls.com

Massachusetts residents can find many of their questions answered on this broker’s website, and Rhode Island residents can now list for a flat fee of as little as $395. The broker of record is Andrew Hillman, and their Rhode Island license can be verified at the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation.

Massachusetts Lic #9058360
Rhode Island Lic #B16281

InstaMLS.com
RhodeIsland.InstaMLS.com
E-Mail: andrew@hillmanre.com
Phone: 617-201-6745
Fax: 617-326-0570

They presently offer flat fee services in NC, SC and GA.  They have two Flat Fee MLS price points; $295 and $695.  They include a certified appraisal in the $695 package.

License numbers are:

By FFMLSM Staff Writer:

Flat Fee MLS Listing - In January of 2004 a savvy group of brokers had a novel concept.  At the time, IP based searching was in its infancy and Texas Broker Jack McLemore (WhyMLS.com) noticed that national advertisers had an advantage in Pay Per Click advertising (PPC) that local IP based advertising could not compete with.  Shortly thereafter he teamed up with Schaunon Winter (BrokerDirectMLSCo.com), and Derek Eisenberg (MultipleListingSystem.com) to form the first cooperative advertising group to market Flat Fee MLS listings on Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.  Soon after, Jeff Kermath (AmeriSellIt.com) and Richard Webber (HomeworksRE.com) joined as partners followed by over 20 affiliates in over 42 states.

 Coops have been around for years.  They are found in small pharmacies and hardware stores that want to compete with the big chains but they are somewhat new to PPC advertising.  Through Broker Direct’s cooperative efforts, an affiliate of Broker Direct is usually in the top two sponsored link positions at any given time for all key flat fee mls list advertising terms.

The Broker Direct Group, LLC currently operates several websites including AmeriOwner.com, ForSaleByOwnerMart.com, ListByOwnerOnMLS.com, ListFlatFeeMLS.com, and SaleByOwnerAmerica.com.

The ThinkingAboutMoney blog had an interesting piece analyzing the state of the housing industry. Many pundits have proclaimed that there is a bubble and that it is bursting. Much of the evidence is related to the recent growth in the number of houses on the market and the reduction in the number of transactions, however, the question this article raised is whether that is a relevant measure of a decline in the housing market? Since housing prices have remained relatively stable, while price growth has slowed down, it may be that a reduction in the number of transactions is more consequential to realtors then the homeowners, in that now there are more realtors working fewer transactions.

This firm covers Louisiana and Misssissippi.  They offer three Flat Fee MLS programs:
$399 for 4 months with 8 photos on MLS and Realtor.Com
$599 for 6 months with 8 photos on MLS and 16 on Realtor.Com
$799 for until sold with 8 photos on MLS and 25 on Realtor.Com
The Broker is Melisa Komarek.
Phone: 504-444-2920
4410 West Aloha Drive, Suite D
Diamonhead, MS  39525
LA License # BROK.0099562857-ACT
MS License # 18314
Website ConnectRealtyInc.com

Based in Monroe, Washington, with additional offices in Kihei, Hawaii, this company offers listings in Arizona, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Their prices start at $399, and they have been offering flat fee listing services since 1999. The brokers of record are Stacie Whitfield and Angela B. Heit, who hold the following licenses:

Hawaii Real Estate Brokerage License # RB-19259
Arizona Real Estate Brokerage License #CO538791000
Washington Real Estate Brokerage License #2159
Oregon Real Estate Brokerage License #200307065

Flat List RE
204 West Main St., Suite C
Monroe, WA 98272

e-mail:
company@flatlist.com

Phone:
1-877-270-3726 toll free

A flat fee MLS broker based in Birmingham, Alabama that is part of the innovative Duffy Realty franchise. Their flat fee program starts at $500 and they offer a full spectrum of a la carte marketing services. The operating agent is Wayne Crawford and he is licensed under broker Rhonda Duffy, and the company Crawford Realty of Alabama Inc. The companies license #000079276-0 can be checked at the Alabama Real Estate Commission.

CrawfordRealtyofAlabama.com
Wayne Crawford
License #000079276-0
Telephone (205) 437.2004
wayne@crawfordrealty.net

For those in Massachusetts, this company claims to offer listings anywhere in the state for $379.00 and their site has a good list of frequently asked questions. For more information, they can be reached at:

MassforSaleByOwner.com
Andrew P. Sansone
License #96461
(978) 821-9667
18 Rindo Park Dive
Lowell, MA 01851

According to a report in Inman News, former employees of Iggy’s House/Buy Side Realty report that they are about to shut their doors.  This flies in the face of reports in the same article by CEO Joseph Fox that they are just restructuring.

It would appear that freebies and loss leaders don’t always stimulate enough business to compensate for the expenses they incur.  This is not a free car wash with a tank full of gas.  Iggy’s would list a house for free on the hope that one or more of the buyers that called inquiring about their listing would buy a home through them.  Wishful thinking in the worst real estate market in 15 years.  That’s more like a tune up, brakes and a new set of tires with a tank full of gas and not only that….you don’t have to buy the gas until after you get all that stuff.  Now granted, today a tank full of gas is not cheap but unfortunately when they refund 75% of the buyer’s commission, their service was pretty cheap; so cheap in fact that it could never compensate for the free listings they gave away.

Where did Iggy’s go wrong?  Most likely their founders are to blame for having inflated egos in a deflated economy.  Joe and Avi Fox got lucky once.  They sold their online stock brokerage Web Street to ETrade and thought they could repeat their success in Real Estate.

ETrade bought webstreet for $45 million and the Fox brothers were reported to have earned $9 million each on the sale; certainly enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives without starting a hair brain real estate model that gives away most of it’s services for nothing or next to nothing.  Then again, these are the same two guys mentioned in a 2005 press release about launching Stand-Up Comedy TV.  Iggy’s house was certainly a comedy…..of errors.

FFMLS Staff Writer

Well, according to the National Association of Realtors, they are worth $31,800, which seems like an awful lot. However, I’ve recently run across some more research on the subject and a few answers to my earlier questions about how the NAR came up with this magic number. A comment by Leonard of the website mainemls.com on the Freakonomics blog says:

“I talked to the author of this study at the National Association of Realtors and it was based on a survey return from 155,000 mailings. The returns totalled 7400. The criteria was a sold, single famiy, detached home in the suburbs.”

Ok, then my next question is - what did they do with this data? Is it a simple price average or median that they are presenting or is there more to it? Fortunately, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University did some more research on this subject, although they were focused on limited service brokers versus traditional full service brokers. What they found was this:

“Interestingly, the empirical results from the models show that limited service listings sold for 1.7 percent less than typical exclusive-right-to-sell listings and took 17.1 percent longer to sell. Given that the typical discount offered by limited service brokers is approximately 2 percent, there does not appear to be any net gain to sellers using limited service representation.”

This came as a bit of a surprise to me, however, they went on to say:

“If the limited service broker charges a total 4 percent commission, then the commission plus the 1.7 percent lower price is approximately equivalent to a 6 percent commission from the seller’s perspective. If this result holds up in additional studies, it would indicate that limited service brokerage offers no dollar advantages to the seller over typical brokerage when using the exclusive right to sell contract.”

Ok, so what this tells me is that using a discount agency versus using a full service agent has a fairly nominal difference, although the above math would still indicate a .3% gain by using the discount broker that charged 1%. It doesn’t sound like much, but this could be .3% x $500,000 in Southern California which would equal $1500 and is probably enough for a nice weekend vacation to Hawaii.

The more interesting question in my mind, is that if I am doing the math correctly then a flat fee MLS listing that costs $500 + a typical 3% buyers agent commission = a total of 3.25% commission on an average $200,000 home. So based on this research, if a flat fee MLS listed home sold for the same 1.7% less then the homeowner using a full service agent, then that would amount to a 2.75% gain which equals $5500 and is certainly enough money to motivate some people to do the extra work involved in this kind of transaction.

A flat fee broker based out of Lisle, Illinois with programs starting at $249 and they list on the Chicago Tribune website, as well as Realtor.com and the local MLS affiliate websites. The broker of record is Chris Broderick of Consumers Choice Realty, Inc and has been licensed since 2004. Their website offers helpful information, including an overview of some Illinois specific legal requirements.

Consumers Choice Realty, Inc.
4300 Commerce Court, Suite 300-7
Lisle, Illinois 60532
Phone: (630) 300-8962
Fax: (630) 839-5655
Email: info@mls-4less.com

Based in San Diego, California, and serving the Southern California market. They offer flat fee mls for $299 and full representation for 0.5%, and the broker of record is Elizabeth Anne Bumer with license #01700316.

eClosed.com
Contact: David Billar
info@eclosed.com
619.861.6307

As reported in Inman news (account required $) , California real estate sales have fallen 15%. I have to wonder if a decline in real estate will make consumers increasingly sensitive to commission rates? This could be a boon for flat fee and discount brokers.

On the other hand, frightenened consumers might decide that their best bet is to go full-service and pull out the red carpet for buyers. It doesn’t seem likely from where I stand, but only time will tell.

A flat fee broker based out of Connecticut, they offer flat fee MLS listings in CT and referral services nationwide starting at $299. The broker also had a nice interview on NBC special reports, and her name is MaryAnn Juliano.

Hotline Properties, LLC
License REB#751914
Flat Fee Realty
(860) 674-0616
Farmington, CT 06032

They claim to offer services in the following cities and counties in Connecticut, and their license can be looked up at the Connecticut Licensing Information website.

Connecticut - (5/11/05 Please Note: Windham and New London counties temporarily unavailable)Hartford, Tolland, Middlesex, Litchfield, New Haven, Fairfield Counties, Andover, Ansonia, Ashford , Avon ,Bantam ,Barkhamsted,Beacon Falls,Berlin, Bethany ,Bethel,Bethlehem,Bloomfield,Bolton,Bozrah, Branford ,Bridgeport, Bridgewater, Bristol, Brookfield, Brooklyn,Burlington, Canaan, Canterbury, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Colebrook, Collinsville, Columbia, Cornwall,Cos Cob, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, Darien, Deep River, Derby, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Haven, East Lyme, East Windsor, Eastford, Easton, Ellington, Elmwood, Enfield, Essex, Fairfield, Falls Village, Farmington, Franklin, Gales Ferry, Gaylordsville, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Greenwich, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hadlyme, Hamden, Hampton, Hartford, Harwinton, Hazardville, Hebron, Higganum, Kensington, Kent, Killingly, Killingworth, Lakeville, Lebanon, Ledyard, Litchfield, Lyme, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Milford, Milldale, Monroe, Montville, Morris, Mystic, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Hartford, New Haven, New London, New Milford, Newington, Norfolk, North Branford, North Canaan, North Haven, North Stonington, Norwalk, Norwich, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Orange, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Plymouth, Pomfret, Portland, Preston, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Ridgefield, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Shelton, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Stafford, Stamford, Sterling, Stonington, Stratford, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Trumbull, Union, Unionville, Vernon, Voluntown, Wallingford, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, West Hartford, West Haven, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Willimantic, Willington, Wilton, Winchester, Windham, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Winsted, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, Woodstock

Flat fee mls listing, they are licensed in 16 states at the time of this update (1/15/09).  They regularly advertise on Google and they offer online forms that can be immediately sent to you via e-mail.

Alaska License # 17073
Arizona License # CO537788000
California License # 01514260
Colorado License # IR00005548
Hawaii License # RB 19685
Idaho License # CO31220
Iowa # B59722000
Louisiana # 0912124596
Montana License # 14603
Nebraska License # 20080383
Nevada License # 57279
New Mexico License # 16640
Oregon License # 200804165
Texas License # 561973
Utah License# 7081459-PB00
Washington License # 9731

Based in Womelsdorf Pennsylvania, this firm has branched out across the country serving California, Colorado, Florida, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Oklahoma, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.

Home office is in PA.

Their license #’s are as follows:
CA 01738280 verify at California Department of Real Estate
CO 100002824 verify at Colorado Real Estate Commission
DC PB98365132 verify at DC Board of Real Estate
DE R2-0003175 verify at Delaware Real Estate Commission
FL BK3187451 verify at Florida Division of Real Estate
GA 301050 verify at Georgia Real Estate Commission
LA BROK.0075381-ACT verify at Louisiana Real Estate Commission
MA 145358 verify at Massachusetts Board of Real Estate
MD 608594 verify at Maryland Real Estate Commission
NJ 0678230 verify at New Jersey Real Estate Commission
NY 34GE1088914 verify at New York Division of Licensing
OK 152818 verify at Oklahoma Real Estate Commission
PA RM419278 verify at Pennsylvania Online Licensing
TX 0556144 verify at Texas Real Estate Commission
VA 0225104643 verify at Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
WA 9377 verify at Washington Real Estate Commission
WV 1540 verify at West Virginia Real Estate Commission (unable to verify)

The cost of flat fee MLS listings in many urban markets has dropped to a few hundred dollars, and now you may even be able to get an mls listing for free! One of the leading discount brokers for real estate buyers, BuysideRealty, has changed its name and begun offering mls listings in 20 states today with 17 more coming soon.

The question that I would ask, is can a service, effectively compete with a paid service that is perceived to be free, especially when it involves the incredible risk of being the one of the largest financial transactions of your life?

This firm lists in Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Stanley, Lincoln, Montgomery, Catawba, Rowan  Counties in NC and York, Lancaster and Chester Counties in SC.  They offer 8 MLS photos and 1 Realtor.Com photo.Realtor is Christopher A Cotto
8604 Cliff Cameron Drive Suite 110
Charlotte, NC 28269
NC Broker’s License: 246743
SC Salesperson’s License: 63008
Website: www.CarolinaMLSFlatFee.com

The National Association of Realtors recently released their quarterly report which indicates that prices are up 10.3% but that sales are slowing and inventories are growing in many markets. The NAR interpretation of this is as follows:

“The growth in single-family home prices continued to cool in the first quarter, but many metropolitan areas are still showing double-digit annual gains, according to the latest survey by National Association of Realtors®. At the same time, metro area condo price appreciation has generally cooled to normal levels.”

On the other hand the Marginal Utility blog’s analysis of NAR’s raw statistics had this to say:

“The appreciation is highly concentrated in the early part of last year; for most metro areas, prices peaked or plateaued around quarter 2 or quarter 3 of 2005. So while the year-over-year increases appear to be “cooling,” the sequential increases have ground to a halt.”

Flat fee Rate of $395 per listing
Covers East Tennessee

Sasha Cole
License office # 1697
Agent # 307092

Although this site doesn’t clearly indicate what area they offer listings in, it does provide a license number and indicates that they are affiliated with the YourIgloo.com company. A check of the address on the contact page shows they are headquartered in Florida, and since they list their real estate license #BK3087954 at the bottom I verified that this is a valid Florida license. Note: The YourIgloo.com site also claims to be licensed in several states, but does not provide license numbers.

SalyByOwnerRealty.com has Flat Fee MLS packages starting at $399 and you can get more info at:

SaleByOwnerRealty.com
Steven Bob Koolik
License #BK3087954
530 S Federal Hwy, Ste 203
Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Phone Toll FREE: 877-657-4298
Fax: 954-421-9897
Office Hours: 8am to 9pm EST

Starting at $249, this company claims to be the largest flat fee broker by volume in Utah. They also offer to do a price match of $99 if you can find a competing service at a lower price. The broker of record is Rebecca J Poppe, holding license #5492117-PB00. For more information, contact:

FidelityUtah.com
1290 W. 13270 S.
Riverton, Utah 84065
service@fidelityutah.com

Wisconson Flat Fee MLS Listing - Redefined Realty is a broker in Southeastern Wisconsin and a member of the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors. They offer a full spectrum of services from flat fee MLS listings ($495) to customized marketing plans with negotiable commission rates. The principal broker is Paul Liebe and their license can be verified at the Wisconsin Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Redefined Realty

License #700698

P. O. Box 562

Oconomowoc, WI 53066

phone: (262) 567-9894

fax: (262) 364-2338

email: info@redefined.com

iRealty Flat Fee Brokerage, LLC lists homes for $299 for 1 year.  There are optional services
available as well.

Vanessa Carlson, Broker
IL License #475.118400

The MSN Money jornal put online appraisals to the test in a great review of the various online appraisal services including the hot newcomer Zillow. Not too surprisingly, Electronic Appraiser, which is the most expensive service they reviewed, came out on top. Indicating that in this case at least, the old adage “you get what you pay for” holds true. Unfortunately, they did not compare such services to those of real world appraisers, which would make for an excellent academic study for any real estate PHDs looking for a dissertation topic.

Also, kudos to the fsbo primer blog for pointing me to this info.

By FFMLSM Staff Writer

In 1971 Charles Schwab incorporated First Commander Corporation and in 1972 he bought out his partners and renamed it Charles Schwab and Company.  In 1974, Schwab had the good fortune of an SEC pilot program that deregulated some brokerage transactions and in 1975 the SEC mandated negotiated commissions for stock trades.  At this point most brokerages raised their fees.  Schwab in contrast started what he called a discount brokerage.

Schwab’s discount brokerage was really an unbundling of trading and advice much like Flat Fee MLS Listings are an unbundling of marketing and transaction management.  This meant that instead of Schwab supporting a force of trained advisors that demanded high pay, he could use back office staff to place the trades and investors would be free to do their own research.  For investors that wanted research and advice, he offered separate services.

To understand how this compares to Real Estate, one has to examine the different structure between the stock brokerage industry and the real estate brokerage industry.  Stock is largely national.  The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) is a trade group that is closely supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  In contrast the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has little or no oversight.  State Real Estate Commissions have power over licensees but little power over National, State or Local trade associations.

Schwab got his start in a nationally (or even internationally) regulated medium.  Flat Fee MLS Pioneers, immediately came up against the wrath of local Realtor® associations.  Schwab was free to grow without persecution where Flat Fee MLS Brokers were taken out back and tarred and feathered.  Sellers were told by local brokers (and still are as of this writing), you can’t List in the MLS for a Flat Fee; that’s illegal.  Sellers were told by traditional Realtors® (and still are as of this writing) if you list with a flat fee firm, we won’t show your listings.  Perplexed sellers asked….Why?  We are still offering you a 3±% commission?  Traditional Realtors® rarely have a response.  However, Realtors® did not count on one major change; Realtor.Com.  Realtor.Com empowered buyers to begin telling Realtors® what they wanted to see.  Realtors® were no longer picking the houses.  This was the gateway that opened for Flat Fee MLS Listings.

The different type of regulatory environment made Flat Fee MLS a more local and regional industry.  In the late 1990s, one firm, Homebytes, actually acquired 50 state licenses and operated in 40+ markets but due to poor management they ceased operatations in under two years.  Today the only national firms are referral firms that farm out work to local and regional brokers.  Four to five regional brokers exist and two brokers cover both the east and west coast with many gaps in service in between.

To be continued…..as more changes occur.

For Texas sellers, this broker offers flat fee mls listings starting at $595, which might seem high compared to some states, but Texas is one of several states that has passed minimum service laws for real estate brokers. It’s a good indicator that this company openly acknowledges the requirements that they must follow, and they clearly indicate the areas they offer services, which include Texas Flat Fee MLS Listing:

Austin Area
Includes Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Bastrop, Dripping Springs, Westlake and surrounding areas.
San Antonio Area
Includes San Antonio, Alamo Heights, Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, New Braunfels, and surrounding areas.
Houston Area
Includes Montgomery County, Woodlands, Katy, Sugarland, Memorial, and surrounding areas.
Dallas/Ft. Worth Area
Includes Dallas, Ft. Worth, Midcities, Plano and surrounding areas

Based out of North Salt Lake, Utah, this company offers limited service for $395 and full service for $745. The broker of record is John T. Armstrong of ARI Realty and Investments, holding license #6502205-CN00.

ARI Realty and Investments
650 North Main Street #120
North Salt Lake, UT 84054

Findutah@gmail.com
(801)390-4693 between the hours of 10am-5pm.

In North Carolina, this company offers flat fee services starting at $299 and 1.5% buyer rebates. They offer services in Charlotte, South Carolina, Mecklenburg, Union, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Stanley, Lincoln, York, Lancaster, Mint Hill, Matthews, Lake Norman, Lake Wylie, Raleigh, Wilmington, Greensboro, and other surrounding areas. The broker is Bernard A. Kaminsky, of Golf Realty Inc., and the license #’s are 191844 in North Carolina and 37917 in South Carolina, the latter of which can be checked at the South Carolina Real Estate Commission.

CharlotteFlatFee.com
Phone: 704-545-7522
Email: flatfee@carolina.rr.com

I thought I had found an answer when I read the quote from a Freakonomics reader:

“I talked to the author of this study at the National Association of Realtors and it was based on a survey return from 155,000 mailings. The returns totalled 7400. The criteria was a sold, single famiy, detached home in the suburbs.”

But then I came across this comment on none other then the New York Times blog:

“NAR surveyed 108,000 people who had sold their homes, got about 3,700 responses, and compiled the results.”

Now I am confused.

So I went to the NAR website to try to dig up some more information on what really happened, and I found this file on the highlights of the survey. It says:

“In August 2005, the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® mailed an 8-page questionnaire to 90,000 consumers who bought a home between August 2004 and July 2005. Information on sellers comes from those buyers who also sold a home. Hurricane Katrina disrupted mail service in late August 2005 in some areas of the country and artificially depressed the response rate to the survey. Consequently, the questionnaire was re-fielded to an additional 55,000 homebuyers in selected areas. All told, the survey yielded 7,813 usable responses yielding a response rate of 5.4 percent. Consumer names and addresses were obtained from Experian, a firm that maintains an extensive database of recent home buyers derived from county records.”

So according the survey’s author, neither of the above comments were correct. It sounds like there were 145,000 surveys mailed, and 7,813 usable responses. Of course, that still doesn’t explain how they calculated their different prices for FSBO and realtor assisted home purchases?

Before people stop buying it. The New York Times just ran an article on the least affordable places to live in the country, as measured by the ratio of housing prices to income. As a California resident, I was not surprised to learn that the Top 11 most unaffordable places in the country are found in this state; next on the list was New York City at #12.

The data has been graphed and there is a nice map of the country. It seems like the big city metropolitan areas are where most of the unaffordable housing is located. Unfortunately, there is no one explanation for why California is so absurdly overpriced, but some of the reasons given are the growing population, low property taxes, and the high birth/immigration rates.

This firm offers flat fee listings in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, New York and Connecticut.

License #s
Connecticut License # REB 755868
Florida License # CQ1012855
Georgia  License # H36294
North Carolina  License # 202985
New York License # 32BA1030802

Today I worked on cleaning up the directory organization, so that the real estate broker’s are more accurately listed in the states they are licensed in. If anyone has any broker’s to add or update, or if any state is missing the license search link, then please contact me via the form listed on the about page. As always, I appreciate hearing people’s experiences and other agent’s thoughts, so thanks to all those who have made meaningful comments and contributions to the discussions here.

As reported in the Mortgage News Daily there have been numerous lawsuits against discount brokers, flat fee brokers, and fsbo websites, by various traditional brokerages and real estate associations. The rulings have been mixed, with FSBO websites being likened to online newspapers, so they are here to stay, while minimum service laws that limit consumer choice to only using full service brokers seem to have also been sucessfully implemented for the time being. What this portends for the future is anybodies guess, but many are watching the DOJ lawsuit to provide a roadmap for what is going to be deemed fair.

In New York, people can try Home-Trek.com, for flat fee listings. Their prices start at $349 and they serve “Metro NY, which includes the northern suburbs of New York City often referred to as the Hudson Valley, plus Long Island. Service areas include Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, parts of Ulster and Sullivan, Nassau, Suffolk & Queens Counties.”

Broker of Record: J Philip Faranda
License # is 49FA1116990
Verification: New York Division of Licensing Services
Home-Trek.com
Home Trek Realty LLC
20 Osage Drive West
Ossining, NY 10562
ph: (800) 834-8589
ph: (914) 941-0923
fax: (914) 470-1124
hometrek@gmail.com

Offering flat fee services starting at $349 in Massachusetts for a 12 month listing, or $399 in Rhode Island for a 6 month listing, with the option of 360 degree virtual tour for an additional $199. The website offers a list of common questions and answers and online checkout. The broker of record is Nick Larsen, holding Massachusetts license #9501739 and Rhode Island #C16353. For more information:

PeoplesMLS.com
Office: (401)726-6500
Toll free: (888)459-0001
E-mail: nick@peoplesmls.com

This company claims to be the largest flat fee MLS broker in the Seattle/Tacoma area in Washington state. They recently received some good press coverage on TheNewsTribune and claim to currently sell $180 million dollars in property annually. Their prices start at $595 and the broker of record is Chris Nye and the license #13886 can be verified at the Washington Professional Licensing website. For more information:

MLS4Owners.com
Christopher Nye
License#13886
2621 70th Ave W #C
University Place WA 98466-5458
Sales@MLS4owners.com
(253) 460-1900

In the metro area of Atlanta, Gerogia, this company offers flat fee MLS services starting at $499 and 1% buyer rebates. They also have a nice newsletter. The broker is Lite Realty, Inc with license # 37835 in Georgia.

VirtualRealEstateStore.com / AtlMLS.com / LiteRealty.com
(770) 886-3808
gibbard@virtualrealestatestore.com

SaleByOwnerTexas.com is a hybrid.  They offer both a pure For Sale By Owner (FSBO) product as well as Texas Flat Fee MLS Listing.  They offer a website, signs, flyers, and contracts to their FSBO customers and when a client wants more exposure, they can upgrade with an MLS and REALTOR.com listing.  They also promote a variety of partners sites for supplementary exposure locally, regionally and nationally. They service all the major markets in Texas, including: Dallas, Fort Worth, DFW, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Tyler, Corpus Christi, Waco, College Station, Denton, and many more cities. Home office is in Texas.

Web Site: www.SaleByOwnerTexas.com

As discussed on Barnako.com, the potential impact of Google Real Estate is quite enormous, even if their initial offering leaves much to be desired. The reason is that they can launch this product at the top of their search results in every market in the country. Since the majority of people are now starting their Real Estate searches online, the amount of exposure Google’s listings will get is undeniably huge and thus the quantity and quality of listings is sure to rapidly improve.

By FFMLSM Staff Writer:
MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service; a database of homes that Realtors^® use to share their listings with other Realtors^®.  In the traditional real estate model with a high 6% commission, the Listing (the Seller’s) Brokerage usually splits its commission 50:50 with the Selling (the Buyer’s) Brokerage each earning 3%.  With a Flat Fee MLS Listing, the listing broker works for a flat fee.  However, today Flat Fee MLS is far more than a Flat Fee Listing of days past.  Today Flat Fee MLS is also à la carte services.

 The traditional brokerage industry prefers to refer to Flat Fee MLS as limited service but it’s far from limited.  What it really is, is consumer choice.  Many flat fee brokers offer all of the services that traditional brokers offer but in a menu format where sellers can pick the services that they want and pass on those they don’t want.  The majority just want MLS marketing and pass on transaction management but a growing number are asking their broker to negotiate and brokers are catering to that demand with a range of programs from a flat fee of a few hundred dollars to ¼%, ½%, ¾% or greater. 

 Who is purchasing Flat Fee MLS services?  The client base seems to be broad.  It seems to be a mix.  Some are sharp educated consumers.  Some are frugal value minded consumers.  Others just want control of their listing and the price is not necessarily the factor.

For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sellers also flock to it as an alternative for costly commissions while still getting the benefit of maximum exposure on MLS and Realtor.com.  The one thing that stands out is the growth in market share.  In 2000, less than 1/10th of 1% of the people used a Flat Fee Broker.  Today it’s about 8%.

This firm provides flat fee and traditional services in the Greater Nashville Area for $449 (as of 2/16/09) plus a 3% commission to the buyer’s broker.

The Wilkinson Group
Vicki L. Jones
Principal Broker, REALTOR®
635 Old Pond Lane
Dickson, TN 37055
615-441-1246
TN License 235852

Hybrid Flat-Fee MLS Listing Services in Alabama.

Luke Smith Broker
AL Company License # 933362-0
AL Qualifying Broker Lic. #73433-0) 

In Chicago, Illinois, this company offers 1 year flat fee MLS listings with free virtual tours starting at $199, and they also offer 1% buyer rebates. The broker is John Funk, holding Illinois license #078.0012184. More information is available here:

eMarketRealty.net
10248 s. Albany Ave.
Chicago, IL 60655
Toll Free: 800.636.1477
info@eMarketRealty.net

Another California based company, local to the Sacramento area. Ed Fitch of Fitch properties is the broker, license #01243729. Prices start at $249.

RealtyDollars2u.com
Ed Fitch, Broker, ABR, GRI
Office: 916-782-5015
edfitch@comcast.net

This firm offers flat fee listings in Northern Illinois from $299.  They are a family owned and operated firm. 

Nick Patterson
Broker Owner
548 W. Roosevelt Road
Chicago IL 60607

As this blog has evolved, I have decided lately to focus my energy on the flat fee real estate broker directory portion of the site because I feel that much of the other information is already available elsewhere on other great news and blog sites. As a result of these efforts, I am proud to say that the directory now covers 29 states and more then half the country!

This firm offers Flat Fee MLS listings throughout New Jersey from $395 for a basic listing and $495 for a Realtor.com Showcase listing.  There is not much detail on their site as to other products that they offer to comment on.  Of particular concern (as of this posting 9-7-08) is their “Get Pre-Approved” page.  While it does say that a social security number is not required, the mere fact that they will take your social security number on a page without an SSL Certificate (it’s not https) is not good and we recommend use of this site with extreme caution. 

Gary Ragusa
Broker of Record
License #9697747

A flat fee mls broker based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina that offers services in 7 different cities and counties in the state. They appear to be quite successful with 8 agents, and a mention in the Wall Street Journal. Their flat fee program starts at $500 and they also offer full service listings for 1% + the commission to the buyer’s broker. The broker is Carl G. Wallace, and his license number is 198303 which can be checked at the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

They also get kudos for prominently listing their license information, linking to the real estate commission lookup service, and just generally having the most fun and creative real estate website I’ve seen lately.

MyDogTess.com
103 Weaver Mine Trail
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
glenn@mydogtess.com

This firm offers flat fee listings from $495.  They offer a Open House Flyer Creator ,Virtual Tour Capability , Documents & Forms, and an HTML Classified Creator.

Broker is Lawrence Vecchio
Better Homes Realty
License # 7871741

In many respects, flat fee mls services represent the halfway point for people considering trying to sell their house themselves. Some reports have estimated that as much as 50% of homeowners try to FSBO before hiring an agent, and also that as much as 80% of those people who try to FSBO do end up hiring an agent.

Thus, somewhere between the many people who try to FSBO and the many people who give up on doing an FSBO is a huge market for flat fee mls service. Flat fee mls represents almost a halfway point in the comission, in that the amount charged by the listing broker is only a few hundred dollars, but you still have to offer 2-3% to the buyer’s broker.

In my mind the 2-3% offered to the buyer’s broker is not that big a deal for the incredible amount of additional exposure you get. It’s like offering a bounty on a buyer for your house in the same way that the US goverment has been offering million dollar bounties on terrorists. Money is an extremely effective motivator, and there are many hundreds of agents who will go to work when you post that ad.

Moreover, everyone know’s that housing prices are negotiable, so if you think the agent is getting to much money, then just raise your price to make up the difference. The NAR 2002 Profile of Buyers and Sellers report even indicated that median sales price for FSBO’s was 27% lower then for homes sold by agents. So surely the use of a flat fee mls service can make up the difference in the price of a house after the commission???

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently had a nice piece on the challenges that consumers still face when hunting for a house online. There’s lots of information and lots of websites, but the information that you really want may be hidden or in many cases not yet available online.

“A lot of information is hard to come by, such as lot size, (house) layout and square footage. I have to drive by a place to find out my truck won’t fit in the driveway and there’s no way I can do anything with the boat except put it diagonally across the front yard.”

This highlights one buyer’s struggles to find just the right place. Of particular note to this blog’s readers is that they also ended up going with a flat fee MLS broker that offered substantial rebates for buyers as well. The other key point that was raised was the additional information that is exclusively available to realtors in the MLS.

“Joy Busse was astounded at how much more property detail MLS supplies brokers than the general public.”

If this more detailed MLS information remains in the proprietary domain of Realtor-only access, then the real estate profession may well ensure that it continues to thrive for many years to come.

On April fools, as would be appropriate, the Real Estate Cafe had a great blurb on the meaning of agency in real estate. It’s an often misunderstood subject that has little in common with the advertising agency, for example, that most of us are familiar with. In real estate, agency is basically about who you are working for - ie are you a buyer’s agent, or a seller’s agent?

Wouldn’t you know that this seemingly simple idea is greatly complicated by the common practices of the real estate industry, in which it is not uncommon for an agent to be both a buyer’s agent AND a seller’s agent in the same transaction… a conflict of interest, perhaps?

Ok, so you’re thinking that you just need to make sure that you have your own agent, right? Unfortunately, the potential for a conflict of interest doesn’t end there. The problem is that the general practice of the buyer’s agent being paid a commission out of the selling price is actually incentivizing the buyer’s agent to encourage the buyer to pay a higher price because then they get a higher commission.

So what do you do? As is often the case, there’s no easy answers, but a good please to start is the association of Real Estate Agents for Real Agency’s pamphlet on the subject.

In Where should you list your home? from TMCnet.com they mention that preliminary research in Madison, Wisconsin indicates that seller’s of higher priced homes tend to gravitate to the FSBOmadison listing service as opposed to the traditional MLS.

“Ortalo-Magne is researching the differences between MLS and FSBOMadison listings. Preliminary findings indicated that owners of expensive homes seem to gravitate toward FSBOMadison, he said.”

If this is true on most FSBO listing sites, then it might actually add credibility to the National Association of Realtors oft-quoted statistics about FSBO housing prices being lower then Realtor/MLS listed homes. Why? Because if pricier homes are being listed on FSBO sites, then the NAR study couldn’t be a result of merely simplifying the numbers to discredit the FSBO market.

Scott & Mike Berg sold over 80 million dollars of property in 2005. With a fun blog and a reasonable price of $359, it seems like it would be hard to go wrong with this Chicago, Illinois broker. Licenses can be verified at the Illinois Real Estate Professions website.

Berg Properties
Chicago Area and Suburbs
127 North Marion Street, Suite 5
Oak Park, IL 60301
Phone: 708-434-1165
Fax: 312-896-9306

This firm covers Southeastern NY and much of Connecticut.  In NY they are members of the Greater Hudson Valley MLS covering Rockland and Orange Counties and parts of Sullivan and Ulster counties. They are also in the Westchester and Putnam Counties MLS and the Long Island MLS covering Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.  In Connecticut they cover all counties but Fairfield County.

Broker: Paul Gioffre
Flat Fee Island Inc.
105 Maxess Rd Suite S124 
Melville NY 11747
CT License: REB.0758645
NY License: 31GI1160465
Website: MLSIsland.com
Phone: 800-705-0988

Á la carte brokers are carving out a buffer zone between selling For Sale By Owner and traditional real estate.  Do-it-yourselfers have long sought an alternative to traditional real estate.  In 2000 the term Flat Fee MLS was almost unknown. A Google search produced minimal results.  Early flat fee companies got business by targeting for sale by owner sellers.  Today that is changing.  Consumers know what flat fee mls is.  Instead of stumbling on it, they seek it out.

This would seem to model other industries.  The success of Home Depot, Lowes, Schwab, and eTrade would tend to indicate that real estate should not be any different.  There is a huge do-it-yourself sector of real estate that needs tools and à la carte brokers offer those tools; they sell the hammer but the consumer gets to swing it.

The result is that consumers are saving hundreds of millions of dollars in commission.  Real estate sales are a 60 billion dollar industry and Flat Fee MLS is 2±% of the market or about 500-600 millions dollars in saved commissions annually.  One billion dollars in annual saved commissions is in site.

Staff Writer

Wisconson Flat Fee MLS Listing - A broker in Wisconsin is experimenting with offering a free 30-day trial MLS access, and if the seller gets 4 or more calls during the trial and wishes to continue the service then they pay a fee of $275. The broker of record is Matthew Trenkle who holds license #53924-90. For more information, contact:

Standardres.com
2214 N Holton St.  MKE   53212
262 607 1983
mtt@brewtownbrokers.com

Offers Flat Fee Listings throughout Iowa for $495.

Scott E. Thomas, Sr
Licensed Real Estate Broker in Iowa
5555 Glen Oaks Pt
West Des Moines, IA 50266
ph. 515-770-7653
fx. 800-214-6615

Idaho residents can try Metro Direct Realty in Meridian for affordable real estate services. They offer full service flat fee plans from $2,495, and serve the following areas:

Boise,Meridian,Eagle,Star,Kuna,Nampa,Caldwell,Middleton and Emmett

They are licensed as a corporation and their license number can be verified at the Idaho Real Estate Commission. For further information contact:

METRO DIRECT REALTY
License #CO29146
30 E. Broadway Suite #201
Meridian, ID 83642
(208) 888-4299 Office
(866) 316-9658 Fax
Email: info@metrodirectrealty.com

In 1981 the National Association of Realtors began tracking what percentage of homes sold by owner.  The number has fluctuated from a low of 13% in 1997¹ and a high of 20% in 2005¹ but the number seems to hover around a mean of 15%; hence the 85:15 ratio (Realtor Sold:Owner Sold).

The most interesting part about these figures is that there was no internet in 1981.  The Internet did not even play a role in real estate until the late 90s and when it did, the numbers did not change much.  In a seller’s market, the percentage of For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sales continued to rise and in a buyer’s market it fell.  This would tend to indicate that it’s not the medium of communication that affects the percentage of FSBOs but instead the market itself.  In other words, sellers might be more apt to try FSBO because it’s easier but not because the web makes it easier to upload a digital photo and a description but instead because the market is hot and more apt to respond to any type of posting by a seller.

What motivates a FSBO seller to be willing to try to sell without a Realtor is far more inate, however.  FSBO sellers have what one might call the do-it-yourself gene.  FSBO sellers like home projects; not just selling the home but fixing and improving the home.  It would seem that FSBO sellers are the type of people that like to shop at Lowes and Home Depot and take on projects on their own.

Years ago, the local plumbing or electrical supply house had signs….contractors only; this is their livelihood.  That was until Home Depot and Lowes began selling all the same products for less money to anyone.  A FSBO website is similar to MLS but it’s like a knock off of the real trade product.  It does not have the acceptance that MLS does because it does not reach the same people as the MLS.  This is because 85% of buyers are still going to brokers or broker websites to buy their home.  Besides the fact that 85% of the people want service, to the buyer, the perception is that the services of a buyer’s agent is free and that the service is paid for by the seller.  Buyers do not see the cost as coming off the top of the deal.  So FSBO websites have never been the real trade product and never will be.

So the system remained imperfect with the advent of the internet because the FSBO seller had no ability to buy the real trade product.  That was until Flat Fee MLS brokers began springing up around the country.  Suddenly there were brokers who would sell the formerly wholesale product, retail to the public.  Flat Fee MLS was essentially an unbundling of the materials from the labor provided by professional.

Flat Fee MLS has turned the 85:15 ratio into an 70:20:10 ratio (Traditional Realtor Sold:Flat Fee Realtor Sold:Owner Sold).  A new service level was carved out of the decades old ratio.  It’s just a sign that Real Estate is changing and will continue to change.

Staff Writer

¹Source: Home Buyer & Seller Survey Shows Rising Use of Internet, Reliance on Agents
         January 16, 2006, The National Association of Realtors
         http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2006/hmbuyersellersurvey06

Jeremy Conaway in RealBlogging suggests the idea of starting a sweepstakes or competition to come up with a new business model that will define the “killer service application for the consumer real estate experience.”

This is a great idea, that unfortunately does not yet have a wealthy benefactor or university sponsor. Of course, in some sense the venture capital community has already put the prize money up for grabs with their funding of numerous real estate startups in recent times, such as Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, and others.