FSBO Madison
Encyclopedia
FSBO Madison is a real estate company based in Madison, Wisconsin
. It pioneered the use of the internet as an alternative to the realtor-backed Multiple Listing Service
(MLS) system. The company is considered the largest for-sale-by-owner website in the United States. FSBO refers to the common abbreviation of ‘For Sale By Owner’ used by homeowners selling their homes without the assistance of a realtor.
The company was started by Christie Miller and Mary Clare Murphy as an off-hand idea to help Murphy sell her home. They contacted local homeowners with homes listed as for-sale-by-owner and the website was started on February 28, 1998 with eight listings.
FSBO Madison reportedly represents 25% of the residential home sales in the Madison area. In 2002 they reported approximately 2,000 home listings. In September 2007 FSBO Madison was the subject of a study conducted by three economists from Northwestern University
and the University of Wisconsin. They reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of using a realtor and found that homes utilizing a realtor typically sold faster, but for-sale-by-owner sellers came out ahead financially. The costs comparison was dramatic between the typical percantage of the home sale charged by a realtor and the $150.00 charged by FSBO Madison for a six month listing.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. It pioneered the use of the internet as an alternative to the realtor-backed Multiple Listing Service
Multiple Listing Service
A multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...
(MLS) system. The company is considered the largest for-sale-by-owner website in the United States. FSBO refers to the common abbreviation of ‘For Sale By Owner’ used by homeowners selling their homes without the assistance of a realtor.
The company was started by Christie Miller and Mary Clare Murphy as an off-hand idea to help Murphy sell her home. They contacted local homeowners with homes listed as for-sale-by-owner and the website was started on February 28, 1998 with eight listings.
FSBO Madison reportedly represents 25% of the residential home sales in the Madison area. In 2002 they reported approximately 2,000 home listings. In September 2007 FSBO Madison was the subject of a study conducted by three economists from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and the University of Wisconsin. They reviewed the strengths and weaknesses of using a realtor and found that homes utilizing a realtor typically sold faster, but for-sale-by-owner sellers came out ahead financially. The costs comparison was dramatic between the typical percantage of the home sale charged by a realtor and the $150.00 charged by FSBO Madison for a six month listing.