Two discount real estate brokerages launched last week in South Florida, another sign of the rebounding housing industry.
Although other discount firms help sellers list their properties for sale, ByOwner.com in Boca Raton and LevelRE in Fort Lauderdale present themselves as different. They also provide agents to guide the owners through the process.
ByOwner, owned by Greg Sullivan and Tony Gibbons, says its agents do everything any other agent does: list the home on the Internet and multiple listing services, schedule showings and inspections, and handle negotiations.
ByOwner charges sellers an upfront fee of $1,995 on homes priced at $300,000 or less. For more expensive homes, ByOwner’s fee increases on a sliding scale up to about $10,000.
The standard 6 percent commission on a $300,000 sale would come to $15,000.
Both firms encourage sellers to pay buyers’ agents a 3 percent commission, but that still saves money in the long run, they say.
“We believe a majority of the public thinks the 6 percent fee is a little high,” Sullivan said. “That’s a large percentage of sellers’ equity that they’re giving up.”
LevelRE, meanwhile, charges a 1 percent fee. Agents list the homes and handle negotiations, though sellers can pay less than $100 for extra services such as having the agent hold an open house, according to CEO Todd Siegel.
The Florida Realtors, a trade group, said firms and agents offering discounted commissions have been around for years, rising to prominence during the housing boom of 2000 to 2005.
With housing on the rebound, discounters are returning, though traditional agents defend the 6 percent as fair compensation for what can be a complicated transaction.
“If we miss one detail, that can affect the entire sale,” said Jon Klein, of Real Living 1st Choice Realty in Broward and Palm Beach counties. “People look for shortcuts, and a lot of discounters will take shortcuts in certain areas.”
But Sullivan and Siegel are undeterred.
“We’re giving people options and flexibility,” Siegel said.
Powers@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6529 or Twitter @paulowers
