🏡 What do recent home sellers believe are the best and worst ways to sell their house? 🏡
Nearly three-quarters of recent American home sellers (73%) say using a real estate agent is the best way to sell. Meanwhile, 38% believe selling to a cash buyer company is the worst option, the most of any method.
Who’s Selling and the Current Market | Traditional Agents Remain Best Way to Sell | Low Rankings for Cash Buyer Companies | Most Profitable and Lowest Cost Methods | Fastest and Easiest Ways to Sell | Mixed Views of New Selling Alternatives | Methodology | FAQ
For as long as the concept of property has existed, people have been buying and selling it to one another. In some ways, this transaction hasn’t changed much from back then: Each side negotiates to get the best deal they can based on their needs. However, in other ways, the market has been altered dramatically, especially in the past few decades.
Although generations of Americans relied on traditional real estate agents or more informal home-buying processes, such as for sale by owner (FSBO) deals, the 21st century has seen unique new methods emerge, powered by modern technology and changes in the housing market.
These new methods include iBuyers, companies that use real estate and property data to make fast, on-demand offers to would-be sellers, as well as cash buyer companies, which are often investor-backed purchases that close quickly and allow owners to sell without making repairs or hosting public open houses.
Meanwhile, discount brokers and flat fee MLS listing services enable sellers to use parts of the traditional real estate system while avoiding some of the cost.
For the typical home seller, sorting through the ways to make the most of what’s likely their largest single investment can be a bit overwhelming. Luckily, they can look to the experiences of others who have recently navigated the market for clues about what works — and what should be avoided at all costs.
Clever surveyed 1,000 Americans who have sold a home in the past five years and found that, despite the expansion of new options, more than two-thirds (67%) believe traditional real estate agents are still the best option. Another small slice favors discount agents (6%), bringing the total still preferring an agent to a whopping 73%.
Recent sellers have much less favorable things to say about cash buyer companies, with 38% identifying them as the worst way to sell. However, nearly 1 in 4 (24%) point to the polarizing FSBO sale as the worst of all.
Sellers also shared their thoughts about the easiest, fastest, and least expensive ways to sell, providing a glimpse into the alternatives for those with unique selling situations.
🔑 How to Sell Your House Statistics
- More than three-quarters of recent sellers (77%) used a traditional full-service real estate agent, nearly 8x the next most common method, a FSBO transaction (10%).
- Only 13% of sellers would go back and choose a different method for their most recent home sale.
- However, about a third of those who sold to cash buyer companies (35%) or iBuyers (33%) would choose a different way to sell.
- About 57% of sellers say they’d prefer to get the best price for their home, even if it takes more time and work.
- Nearly three-quarters of recent sellers (73%) say hiring a real estate agent is the best way to sell a home.
- Two-thirds (67%) pick a traditional full-service real estate agent, while 6% prefer a discount broker/agent.
- More than three-quarters of recent American home sellers who used an agent (76%) feel the services they received were worth what they paid for them.
- Nearly 4 in 10 recent American home sellers (38%) feel that selling to a cash buyer is the worst way to sell a home, more than any other method.
- Almost two-thirds (61%) go as far as calling cash buyer companies “scams.”
- Almost half of recent American home sellers (46%) believe a FSBO deal is the most profitable way to sell a home, while 44% say that selling to a cash buyer company is the least profitable method.
- More than half of sellers (51%) believe a FSBO sale is the least expensive way to sell your home.
- About 69% of recent American home sellers say hiring a traditional real estate agent is the most expensive method.
- Two-thirds of recent American home sellers (66%) say FSBO is the hardest way to sell a home, while more than half of sellers (58%) believe traditional agents are the easiest way to sell a home.
- Roughly 40% believe traditional agents are the fastest way to sell.
- Over half of recent American home sellers (55%) say FSBO is the slowest way to sell a home.
| Method of Selling | Best Overall Way to Sell | Worst Overall Way to Sell | Most Profitable Way to Sell | Least Profitable Way to Sell | Most Expensive Way to Sell | Least Expensive Way to Sell | Easiest Way to Sell | Hardest Way to Sell | Fastest Way to Sell | Slowest Way to Sell |
| Traditional Real Estate Agent | 67% (No. 1) | 5% (No. 6) | 31% (No. 2) | 25% (No. 2) | 69% (No. 1) | 9% (No. 4) | 58% (No. 1) | 6% (No. 4) | 40% (No. 1) | 13% (No. 2) |
| Discount Real Estate Agent/Broker | 6% (No. 3) | 10% (No. 4) | 5% (No. 5) | 7% (No. 5) | 6% (No. 3) | 7% (No. 5) | 3% (No. 6) | 6% (No. 4) | 2% (No. 6) | 10% (No. 4) |
| FSBO (For Sale by Owner) | 12% (No. 2) | 24% (No. 2) | 46% (No. 1) | 9% (No. 3) | 6% (No. 3) | 51% (No. 1) | 6% (No. 4) | 66% (No. 1) | 6% (No. 4) | 55% (No. 1) |
| Cash Buyer Companies (e.g., 'We Buy Houses for Cash' companies) | 5% (No. 5) | 38% (No. 1) | 7% (No. 4) | 44% (No. 1) | 9% (No. 2) | 14% (No. 2) | 22% (No. 2) | 5% (No. 6) | 38% (No. 2) | 4% (No. 6) |
| iBuyer (e.g., Offerpad, Opendoor) | 3% (No. 6) | 15% (No. 3) | 3% (No. 6) | 8% (No. 4) | 6% (No. 3) | 7% (No. 5) | 8% (No. 3) | 8% (No. 3) | 9% (No. 3) | 6% (No. 5) |
| Flat Fee MLS Listing | 6% (No. 3) | 7% (No. 5) | 8% (No. 3) | 7% (No. 5) | 5% (No. 6) | 12% (No. 3) | 4% (No. 5) | 9% (No. 2) | 5% (No. 5) | 11% (No. 3) |
Market Check: How Americans Are Selling Their Homes
To understand the preferences of the 1,000 sellers surveyed by Clever, it’s critical to understand a bit about them, their recent home sale, and the market they were part of.
All sold their homes within the past five years, with 42% selling since late 2022, when the full impact of rising interest rates had started to temper the hot post-pandemic real estate market.
More than three-quarters of them (77%) used a traditional, full-service real estate agent, nearly 8x more than the next most common method, a FSBO transaction (10%).
Just 3% say they hired a discount real estate agent or broker, who typically charges a lower-than-average commission but may sometimes provide fewer services or less personalized support.
One in 20 (5%) offloaded their homes to a cash buyer company, such as those that advertise "We Buy Houses for Cash" on roadside signs and TV commercials. These are typically backed by investors who seek to get below-market deals by closing quickly and accepting properties in whatever condition they’re presently in.
Even fewer (2%) used an iBuyer, such as Opendoor or Offerpad. These companies use technology to rapidly assess data about a potential property and provide home sellers with a quick offer.
Although there’s little doubt the market has cooled since the days of multiple same-day offers over asking price, homes aren’t sitting on the market long. Over half of recent home sellers (53%) say their homes were listed for less than a month before selling, with 1 in 12 (8%) reporting that their homes sold without even being on the market.
Overall, recent sellers were mostly satisfied — 86% say they sold their home for a fair price, and only 13% would go back and choose a different method for their most recent home sale.
Still, their recent experiences in the housing market already have 90% expressing concerns about selling their home someday. Chief among them are unexpected costs (41%), not getting enough money for the house (36%), and handling repairs or inspections (36%).
Traditional Agents Top the List of Best Ways to Sell
For many sellers, the best way to sell a home depends on their priorities. About half of recent sellers (48%) say getting the highest price is the most important factor, nearly 2.5x as many as those prioritizing a hassle-free process (20%), and 3x the number who say professional support is most critical (16%).
What a seller believed was most important played a significant role in determining which sales method they ended up using. A large portion of sellers using discount agents (55%), iBuyers (50%), and traditional agents (49%) say they were looking to maximize their sale price.
Sellers seeking the least hassle most commonly chose discount brokers (26%) and cash buyer companies (25%). Meanwhile, those prioritizing professional support were most partial to flat fee MLS listings (19%) and traditional agents (18%).
| Most Important Factor When Selling | Overall Respondents | Flat Fee MLS Users | FSBO Sellers | Discount Agent/Broker Users | Traditional Real Estate Agent Users | Cash Buyer Company Sellers | iBuyer Sellers |
| Getting the highest sale price | 48% | 33% | 42% | 55% | 49% | 40% | 50% |
| Having a hassle-free process | 20% | 19% | 21% | 26% | 20% | 25% | 13% |
| Having professional support | 16% | 19% | 7% | 3% | 18% | 8% | 13% |
| Minimizing selling costs | 10% | 19% | 20% | 13% | 7% | 13% | 13% |
| Selling as quickly as possible | 6% | 11% | 10% | 3% | 5% | 15% | 13% |
When weighing the competing factors, 57% of sellers say they’d prefer to get the best price for their home, even if it takes more time and work. That’s more than double the number of people who want to sell fast, even if it requires lowering the price or added work (24%).
Another 1 in 5 sellers (20%) opt for taking it easy, saying they want to do the least amount of work, even if it takes longer to sell or results in a lower final price.
With all this in mind, 73% of recent American home sellers believe using some kind of real estate agent is the best way to sell a home. Two-thirds (67%) specifically chose a traditional real estate agent, while 6% opt for discount brokers.
The reasons shouldn’t be too surprising, considering how much sellers tend to value their bottom line. Nearly three-quarters of recent home sellers (73%) believe hiring a traditional real estate agent can cause a home to sell for market value or higher. It’s the only method that more than a quarter of sellers believe would do so.
What’s more, nearly 4 in 10 recent sellers who didn’t use an agent (38%) believe their home would have sold for more if they did.
However, it’s not just about cold, hard cash. A majority of recent sellers (58%) also believe hiring a traditional real estate agent is the easiest way to sell a home. Another 40% say hiring a traditional agent is the fastest way to sell a home.
Beyond any measurable statistics about days on market or sales price, many simply seem to be more comfortable doing things the way they’ve been done for decades. More than two-thirds of sellers (69%) believe selling without an agent is too risky, and 79% say their agent lowered their stress level throughout the selling process.
They tend to be pleased with the results, too. Approximately 83% of those who sold a home using a traditional real estate agent report having had a good experience doing so, the highest rate among selling methods in our study.
In addition, three-quarters of these sellers (76%) felt that the services they received from their agent were worth what they paid them. In particular, their sharp eyes and professional expertise came in handy for about 1 in 6 sellers (16%) who say their agent uncovered an issue with their home they weren’t previously aware of.
Only 5% believe that traditional agents are the worst way to sell, the lowest among all choices.
| Method of Selling | % Best | % Worst | Net Views |
| Hiring a traditional real estate agent | 67% | 5% | +62 |
| FSBO | 12% | 24% | -12 |
| Flat fee MLS listing | 6% | 7% | -1 |
| Hiring a discount real estate agent/broker | 6% | 10% | -4 |
| Cash buyer company | 5% | 38% | -33 |
| iBuyer | 3% | 15% | -12 |
Respondents do have some criticisms of real estate agents, with more than a third (36%) believing they pressure sellers to accept lowball offers. Meanwhile, a troubling 1 in 8 (12%) say their agent made some sort of mistake during the sales process. A similar percentage (13%) say their agent was more of a hassle than a help.
Previous Clever research has found that among those who didn’t use a full-service, traditional real estate agent, nearly 1 in 4 say it’s because they had a bad experience with their last agent (24%) or they don’t trust real estate agents (23%).
Notable Gaps Exist Between Discount and Traditional Agents
Although traditional agents and their discount-oriented counterparts provide many or all of the same services, the distinction between them seemingly makes a huge difference to many recent sellers.
About 76% of recent sellers would consider using a traditional real estate agent for their next sale — 3x the number who would consider using a discount one (25%).
However, 60% of recent home sellers say they’d be willing to give up some traditional agent services to save money, indicating an opening for discount brokers. Sellers are most likely to forgo hosting an open house (26%), pricing strategy and market analysis (13%), and negotiation support (11%).
Much of the hesitancy among sellers may come down to worries that their listing might not get the attention it deserves. Nearly three-quarters of recent sellers (71%) believe discount brokers offer less marketing support compared to traditional agents. In some cases, this may be true but can vary from agent to agent.
However, a majority of those who have used both methods would recommend them to friends or family — 56% of those who have used discount agents and 83% of those who have used traditional ones.
Nearly Two-Thirds of Sellers Call Cash Buyer Companies “Scams”
Americans have pretty harsh views of the selling method they’ve deemed the worst overall: cash buyer companies, selected by 38% of recent sellers. Nearly two-thirds (61%) go as far as calling these companies “scams.”
At net -33, the percentage of home sellers who see it as the single worst way to sell is far and away the leader by this metric, more than 20 points lower than iBuyers (-12) and FSBO (-12).
While just 16% of overall respondents say they regret the most recent method they used to sell their home, 27% of those who sold to cash home buyer companies feel this way, nearly double the 14% who used a traditional real estate agent.
Once again, sellers’ bottom lines seem to be the motivating factor. Two-thirds of recent sellers (66%) believe that selling to a cash buyer could lead to a sale below the true market value of their home.
Recent sellers acknowledge other benefits of cash buyer companies, however. Sellers who sold to these buyers say they were by far the fastest, with 65% reporting that their home sold within a month and 31% reporting that their home sold without even going on the market.
Comparatively, only 52% of sellers who used a traditional agent, 53% who sold FSBO, and 55% who used a discount agent say they sold within a month.
In addition, cash buyer companies often allow home sellers to sell their property as-is, without making sometimes significant repairs that can come with traditional sales. More than half of sellers who used cash buyer companies (54%) did not take on any optional expenses, such as repairs, professional cleaning, home staging, or professional photography.
That factor could be important to the more than 1 in 3 sellers (36%) who conceded their home had problems when they sold it, ranging from cosmetic damage to foundation and electrical issues.
Although there’s been some controversy in recent years over institutional investors snapping up available homes, 74% of recent American home sellers would be willing to sell to a large company or corporation through a cash buyer company or iBuyer in the right situation.
More than a third (36%) would do it if it’s the highest offer, while 1 in 12 (8%) say they’d sell to these buyers if it’s the fastest. However, another 1 in 4 (27%) would only do it if there’s no other option.
About Half of Sellers Believe FSBO Is the Most Profitable, but Is It Actually?
At first glance, for sale by owner transactions can look like a great deal. There’s no agent commission to worry about, and it’s possible to hire help from attorneys and other professionals for complicated aspects of the sale. Plus, who knows your house better than you do?
It’s a thought process that likely leads 46% of recent home sellers to believe that a FSBO deal without an agent is the most profitable way to sell a home. But this belief is likely mistaken, as Clever found those who didn’t use an agent earned a typical profit $79,000 less than those who did. That’s substantially more than a typical real estate agent’s commission on a median-priced home sold in Q2 2024. That can range from $20,000-$25,000, including a concession for buyer’s agents, as is still common post-NAR settlement.
Meanwhile, nearly a third (31%) believe a traditional real estate agent is the best way to secure maximum profit from their home sale, even factoring in commission and other costs. Unfortunately, this confidence doesn’t extend to discount agents and brokers, with just 5% saying they’d be the most profitable way to sell.
There’s a familiar result when it comes to the least profitable way to sell: cash buyer companies. Almost half of recent sellers (44%) say so. These sellers, along with 8% who say iBuyers offer the least profit, show that a majority of respondents recognize that the convenience and speed of these methods come at a cost — literally.
While profit may be on the minds of many, other sellers are concerned about unloading their property with the fewest costs. Over two-thirds of recent American home sellers (69%) say hiring a traditional real estate agent is the most expensive method for selling your home. That’s a full 60 points higher than the next most common option sellers believe to be the most expensive, cash buyer companies (9%).
Some of this belief comes from experience. Only 39% of recent home sellers who have used traditional agents believe it’s a cost-effective method.
On the flip side, more than half of sellers (51%) believe a FSBO sale is the least expensive, with cash buyer companies (14%) and flat fee MLS listings (12%) far behind. Nearly half of FSBO sellers (45%) say they didn’t take on any optional expenses or tasks before selling their home, such as home improvements, repairs, landscaping, professional cleaning services, or a home warranty.
Overall, 71% of those who have tried FSBO sales believe it’s a cost-effective way to sell. Although they might be right in terms of out-of-pocket costs, we’ve already mentioned the potential profit pitfalls of FSBO sales. It’s one of the many reasons it’s vital for each seller to do the math and consider their own priorities before deciding on their preferred sales method.
FSBO: A Polarizing Option for Home Sellers
No other sales method produced opinions as polarizing as FSBO, which 1 in 10 recent home sellers used (10%).
Although 1 in 8 (12%) describe it as the best way to sell, nearly 1 in 4 (24%) believe it’s the worst overall. However, home sellers should also consider that just 14% of those who have sold their homes FSBO say they had a bad experience doing so. That’s the lowest among any method, even traditional real estate agents (20%).
There are strong and sometimes mistaken beliefs behind the opposing views of FSBO. About half of recent sellers (51%) believe it’s the least expensive way to sell, although 46% incorrectly think it’s the most profitable. Almost three-quarters (71%) believe it’s cost-effective, by far the highest among all methods.
The split can even be seen in the details of FSBO sales themselves. More than a quarter of FSBO sellers (27%) say they sold this way before even putting their house on the market, a sign of how personal networks and other informal marketing still play a big role in the American real estate market.
On the other hand, two-thirds (66%) of all sellers believe FSBO is the hardest selling method, and more than half (55%) say it’s the slowest.
FSBO sellers split about equally when it comes to those who would recommend the strategy to friends and family (47%) and those who wouldn’t (53%). It’s one of only three methods that fewer than 50% of those who have used it would recommend, along with flat fee MLS listings (46%) and cash buyer companies (43%).
Use Agents for Fast, Easy Sales, According to Sellers
As positive as some sellers feel about FSBO in many ways, 66% say it is the hardest way to sell a home. No other alternative is viewed as the hardest by even 10% of respondents.
Meanwhile, those looking for simplicity are likely to opt for a traditional real estate agent. More than half of sellers (58%) believe it’s the easiest way to sell a home. However, nearly 1 in 4 (22%) think cash buyer companies offer the most straightforward process.
This same split can be seen among those who prioritize speed above all else when selling their home. Roughly 40% believe traditional agents are the fastest way to sell, while 38% say cash buyer companies can close quicker, as their ads often promise.
Over half of recent American home sellers (55%) say FSBO is the slowest way to sell a home. Beyond this, they are relatively divided, with 13% saying traditional agents are the slowest, while 11% say flat fee MLS listings, and 10% say discount agents and brokers.
Nationwide, homes averaged 55 days on the market in September 2024. Excluding quick-offer iBuyers, sellers who used flat fee MLS listings had the highest percentage of homes that took two months or more to sell (38%), longer than the national average. This was followed by those using traditional real estate agents, with 32% of these sellers saying it took longer than two months to close.
Buyers Have Mixed Views of Newer Selling Methods
The more things change in the real estate market, the more they apparently stay the same — at least for now. Just 1 in 10 recent sellers (10%) used a more recently popularized selling method, such as a cash buyer company, iBuyer, or flat fee MLS.
Only 14% listed one of those options as the best overall, while 60% picked one of them as the worst. It doesn’t appear they’ll become more popular anytime soon. Just 1 in 5 (20%) say they would consider using a flat fee MLS for their next home sale, while only 14% would consider an iBuyer and 11% would consider a cash buying company.
In fact, 49% would never sell to a cash buyer company, and 31% wouldn’t even consider an iBuyer.
Even those who have tried newer methods have split opinions on their usefulness. Just over half of those who used an iBuyer or flat fee MLS (57%) believe it was cost-effective, but only 43% of those who sold to cash buyer companies feel that way.
A slight majority of iBuyer sellers (54%) would recommend it to a family member or friend, but slightly less than half of flat fee MLS sellers (46%) and those who sold to a cash buyer company (43%) would do the same.
About a third of those who sold to cash buyer companies (35%) or iBuyers (33%) feel even more strongly negative about their experience, admitting they’d go back and choose a different method if they could.
Once again, sellers’ desire for the best price may be behind their views on these methods. Flat fee MLS sellers were the most likely to drop their asking price, with 56% doing so. Nearly half of those who sold to cash buyers (48%) had to do the same.
The jury is still out on the prospects for these types of services going forward. Respondents split 50-50 on whether technology-driven platforms are the future of the real estate market, and only 19% of recent American home sellers would trust an online property valuation tool more than their agent’s opinion of the value of their home.
Methodology
Clever Real Estate surveyed 1,000 Americans who sold a home between 2019 and 2024 about their experience with their recent home sale, their future plans for selling, and how their experiences may have changed those plans. The survey was conducted from Oct. 6 to 9, 2024.
About Clever
Since 2017, Clever Real Estate has been on a mission to make selling or buying a home easier and more affordable for everyone. Twelve million annual readers rely on Clever's library of educational content and data-driven research to make smarter real estate decisions — and to date, Clever has helped consumers save more than $82 million on realtor fees. Clever's research has been featured in The New York Times, Business Insider, Inman, Housing Wire, and many more.
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FAQs
What do recent sellers believe are the best and worst ways to sell a home?
Roughly two-thirds (67%) say hiring a traditional real estate agent is the best way to sell a home, while 38% believe cash buyer companies are the worst way overall. Learn more.
What is the most profitable way to sell my house?
Almost half of sellers (46%) believe for sale by owner deals are the most profitable, although Clever research has found those who didn’t use an agent earned a typical profit $79,000 less than those who did. Learn more.
What is the fastest way to sell my house?
Sellers who sold to cash buyer companies were by far the fastest, with 65% reporting that their home sold within a month and 31% reporting that their home sold without even going on the market. Learn more.
What are the most common ways to sell a house?
More than three-quarters of recent sellers (77%) used a traditional full-service real estate agent, nearly 8x more than the next most common method, a for sale by owner transaction (10%). Learn more.