With many real estate markets favoring home buyers these days and the wealth of online information provided to consumers by the real estate industry, some buyers are becoming BUBBAs, or buyers unrepresented by a buyer’s agent.
According to an NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 13 percent of recent home buyers bought directly from a builder without the help of a real estate professional, and 9 percent bought their home from its previous owner without professional assistance.
Buyers who make what can be the biggest investment of their lives without an agent may be confused about commissions, think they are saving money because they believe sellers will pass along any savings to a total stranger, or are uninformed about the complexity of today’s home buying process
In a recent quest for information, a recent homebuyer shared with me that they had an excellent experience on the purchase of their new home. Rob M. from Boston stated, “My realtor knew I was a first time homebuyer and was very patient with me. They knew that they would have to help me a lot because this was my first time buying a house, however, they also realized that I knew the ball was in my court, as far as buying a house.
I looked at well over four dozen houses with my realtor. I eventually settled on a house that was priced almost $50,000 below comps (but that is because the home owners did not do anything to improve the house in the last 10 years or so), so in working with my realtor, I was able to get a new roof, new hot water tank, an accepted offer almost 10 percent below asking price, and the owners to pay my closing costs.
Sure, a lot of what I received was due to the market, but overall, my realtors did a great job of helping me out and assisting me to purchase a great house in a great neighborhood in a not-so-great market.”
