Want to buy house in STX

Hi, bluegene. I have a 3 bedroom, 1 bath townhouse near gallows bay that I will be putting on the market in about a week. Still putting on the finishing touches, but here are some of the features. Very open floor plan with vaulted ceilings, new ceramic tile counters, new tile in tub surround, new hot-water heater, new stove, roof recently re-coated,
fenced yard, LOTS of closet space! Also the association fee is only $400 per year! This unit is furnished and I will be selling it FSBO. Priced at $159,000 it is the least expensive home on the east end. If you do not need it furnished, we could adjust the price accordingly. I can be reached at 340-719-4670

Good Luck!

There are very few FSBO in stx at least you will see maybe 2 to 5 in the paper at most. I've never seen more then that since I've been here and half of the add in the paper for houses for sale are actually from realtors.. It just doesnt work well here. Unless you are pricing it on the very low end of the spectrum you could sale your house at you really need a realtor here. Houses tend to take much longer to sell here, so you really do need the expertise of a good realtor IMO.

The inventory has been low for a very long time, it is not likely to change. It has hovered between 150 to 200 houses for quite a while. Its actually on the high end of that right now.

Besides as a buyer you dont incur any extra charges from a realtor. Seller pays commission.

Good Luck

There are a few rather nice properties available in the under $200K price range at the moment and more as the price point rises. Inventory is always low compared to the mainland. Most locals never sell their houses and just pass them down through their families for generations. The vast majority of what shows up in the MLS are properties being sold by Continentals and down islanders. The exceptions to that include foreclosure, divorce and estate sale transactions, plus a very few homes that are new construction. If you would like info on specific houses that you spot in the MLS, additional photos, etc., just ask!

"Besides as a buyer you dont incur any extra charges from a realtor. Seller pays commission."

I think everyone knows that selling costs, including realtor commissions, are factored into the sales price paid by the buyer.

I would encourage you to use Alexandra if you don't find a FSBO. She is great to deal with and really knows her stuff.

Dntw8up I disagree. It is the market that drives the cost of the house. The house is worth what the market says it is worth. In a ideal world you would be able to ask what you wanted and then add in factors like a 6% commission, but that rarely happens.

You rarely see a FSBO that is 6-10% less in price than what it would be if marketed by a Realtor. Most FSBO sellers expect the same sale price either way, they just plan on pocketing the extra $$ themselves rather than pay the Realtors who work with the buyer and seller to bring the transaction to fruition. Some properties sell OK as FSBO's, but this is much less possible to do in an island situation than on the mainland. Most buyers are coming from the mainland and don't have the ability to locate FSBO's during their short buying trips. They can plan ahead with a Realtor to see what is in the MLS and use their time well while on-island. Buyers also often prefer to have someone knowledgeable in the market help them with locating a property and with handling many of the details of the purchase as the process goes along.

yes Terry, Alexandra is great. she just dropped me off after a whole day of looking at homes & answered my millions of questions. she is so helpful. Thanks Alexandra.

Indeed the market drives the cost of housing but it seems disingenuous to claim that the seller pays the realtor commissions, especially now that there are buyer's agents with fiduciary responsibilities to the buyer . Yes, the commissions come out of the seller's proceeds but at closing, the seller's proceeds from which the commissions are paid generally come from the buyer so at best, who pays commissions is a chicken and egg question.

I would agree with you IF the seller could set the price they wanted to sell their house for then add the commissions on top of that. But that is very rarely the case. You sale it for what the market will allow, so it is the seller who pays the commission. And whatever the market allows the buyer is always trying to get a deal and you know most of your offers are going to be lower. Ask any realtor who is paying their comission and they will tell you the seller. Last I heard there were no buyer's agents on stx and even then they would walk a fine line.

Having sold two homes stateside FSBO, buyers expect part of the sellors savings. Buyers have the leverage to ask for it since unless you have an exceptional property selling it yourself you will have fewer potential buyers.

Jim