Survey: Sellers fare better using Realtors than trying on their own

A recent survey discovered that those who sell their houses with a Realtor had a 50 percent higher success rate than those who went the "for sale by owner" route.

The survey was done by HomeGain, and questioned over 1,000 homeowners. The closing rate for those who used a Realtor was nearly 50 percent higher than those who decided to sell by themselves. Out of the people that were polled, 83 percent used a realtor, while 17 percent attempted to sell their home without one.

Louis Cammarosano, the general manager of HomeGain. said, "It is especially striking that homeowners fare significantly better in selling their homes using a Realtor than selling on their own.”

Cammarosano added that it says something about the abilities of Realtors to be able to have such a success rate selling homes.

Currently, the Houston real estate market is faring better than a great deal of the country, but it is still a difficult market for sellers. Specifically, Houston foreclosures are selling for much lower than other types of sales, a trend that is seen across much of the U.S.