How to Advertise as a For Sale By Owners

Table of content

How to Advertise as a For Sale By Owners

How to advertise your home for sale

1. Place an FSBO sign out front

2. Capture quality pictures of your home

3. Create captivating posters

4. Take a video of your home

5. Or splurge on drone footage

6. Spread the word to your neighbors

7. Host an open house

8. Offer private showings

9. Provide virtual tours

10. Partner with We Buy Houses for Cash companies

11. Try a flat fee MLS listing

12. Open a Facebook page

13. Drive publicity on Instagram

14. Consider using Craigslist

15. Use an iBuyer platform

16. List on FSBO websites

17. Place social ads

18. Sell with FSBO apps

A “For Sale by Owner” listing can potentially save you thousands of dollars on your home sale. But selling by yourself means forgoing the visibility that a real estate agent would have brought to the listing. If you’re going to save all those dollars on the deal, you’ll need to find effective ways to advertise your home for sale.

There are many options you might explore to create exposure for your FSBO listing. Taking out social ads for sale, posting neighborhood property adverts, or even hosting an open house can all help you attract buyers. However, you should know up front that there’ll be a lot of work to do, especially if you’re going to make the most of your sale.

According to Realtor.org, FSBO homes sold for less than agent-involved lots in 2020, mostly due to the superior contacts and listing networks that agents can provide. FSBO sellers got $217,900 on average for their homes, compared to the $295,000 netted on agent-involved sales.

The good news is that, with the red hot market we’re currently seeing and through dedicated marketing on your part, it’s possible to match or even better these figures. We’ve compiled 30 ways to accomplish that in this detailed guide to how and where to advertise home for sale.

How to advertise your home for sale

1. Place an FSBO sign out front

Every solo home sale starts with well-appointed signage, and putting up a lot for sale by owner is no different. Make sure the sign is bold and clean, written in black font that people can read from the road. There’s no real need for anything fancy. Just a simple “House for Sale by Owner” will suffice.

What the signage does right off the bat is it helps you announce the listing to the neighborhood. If your community is as busy as most, everyone of your neighbors will know you’re ready to sell before long – except if you have reasons for keeping things under wraps.

2. Capture quality pictures of your home

Although good signage announces your for sale by owner listing, high quality pictures help potential buyers see all the best parts of your home. You can choose to retain an experienced and skilled photographer for the best pictures possible. Or, if you want to continue in the DIY spirit, whip out your iPhone and apply these TikTok editing tricks for images that are just as good. But keep in mind that you’ll need professional pictures to list property for sale by owner with online listing sites.

Add a bit of cute and cuddly to the pictures by including your pet in a few shots. Maybe one of the pup wrestling his favorite toy or your cat napping in the background.

3. Create captivating posters

Nicely-done posters will help you quickly spread the word that you’re ready to sell your home (even faster than your neighbors’ dinner table talk). Go for printed posters that are nice and informative. Include an outside shot of your FSBO property with a brief description of its features, including the fact that it is a listing for sale by owner. Don’t forget to add contact details so interested individuals can get in touch.

4. Take a video of your home

Video is one of the fastest growing mediums of engagement online. Statistics indicate that, by 2022, video marketing will drive more than 80% of consumer internet traffic, and for obvious reason. Videos show and tell far more than a picture ever could, which is why explainer videos and the viral clips on Tik Tok are so popular.

You can choose to shoot the video by yourself or hire a professional to help. If you’re going it alone, a good trick is to use a stabilizer with your iPhone to produce smooth, flawless video.

5. Or splurge on drone footage

If you have a lot of acreage to show off or are selling a luxury property, shooting a video with a drone can work wonders for your listing. The stunning aerial views and expanded perspective that drone footage affords will be well worth it. What’s more, homes with drone footage sell roughly 68% faster than those without.

6. Spread the word to your neighbors

When asked how they advertised their home before sale, most people listing a property for sale by owner admit that they did nothing. This is because, for the most part, they were selling to people they already know – neighbors, friends, and family. If you don’t already have someone in mind for the sale, you may find the buyer you’re looking for amongst your neighbors.

7. Host an open house

Open house advertising is another great way to market your listing. A for sale by owner open house gives prospective buyers an opportunity to see your home for themselves and decide if the sale is worth it. You can have one every week or once in two weeks until you conclude a sale.

Before you throw your doors open though, it’s best to take some time to prepare your home. Start by thoroughly cleaning and decluttering the house. Next, promote the open house so you’re certain all your prep won’t go to waste. If you’re wondering how to promote an open house, a good way to start is by placing open house ads online. People would love to look around, and even if they can’t buy, you can be sure that they’ll help spread the word.

8. Offer private showings

For houses with a bit of history or unique features (like a rare tree or extensive grounds), private showings can help up the ante. The value of these is that anyone opting for a private tour likely has more than a passing interest in the house, so it just might be a great opportunity for a sale.

9. Provide virtual tours

A professional videographer can help you create an enthralling virtual tour of your home. Virtual tours are a modern way of showing homes. They are also extremely convenient, especially for those who live far from where the house is located or who are unable to view the home physically for any reason. This also potentially widens the net of potential buyers for your property.

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10. Partner with We Buy Houses for Cash companies

Cash buyer companies potentially provide a broad network of buyers looking to purchase a home now. Most will get you an offer within 2-3 days, without requiring you to carry out costly repairs or improvements on your home. However, remember that these companies will rarely, if ever, offer you a market rate for your home. Their biggest advantage is they let you quickly place ads for houses and immediately start receiving offers from interested buyers.

11. Try a flat fee MLS listing

Many regard MLS listing as possibly the best place to advertise for sale by owner homes. MLS means multiple listing services in full, and it is a real estate buyer network maintained by local realtor associations. By posting for sale by owner on MLS, you stand to benefit from the exposure that you would have gained from working with a realtor.

Even better, it allows you to harness the power of the internet to fuel your sale. Realtor.org reports that 51% of buyers find a purchase on the internet, while another 28% obtain results through a realtor. MLS listing brings the best of both worlds – although you should note that these services will typically charge a 3% commission.

12. Open a Facebook page

Social media is the great connector of our time, providing a seamless way to connect people and opportunities. Currently, more than 70% of people use the internet for social media, and a great chunk of that number are on Facebook. With a Facebook Page or by posting on Facebook Marketplace, you can advertise open house on Facebook, showcase the charm of your home, or place open house advertisements.

13. Drive publicity on Instagram

Here’s where those pictures you took of your home will come in handy. Instagram provides surprisingly high tech tools to help you reach millions of buyers with simple FSBO ads, and the best part is it depends largely on visual content. So, no need for the exhausting stories Facebook posts seem to demand.

The platform can be the best way to advertise an open house, especially if you’re not so keen on spending time writing ad copy. Just put up your quality pictures and include details about the open house schedule. You’ll find plenty open house advertising examples and open house ad ideas on the platform. Just type “#openhouse” and you’ll be flooded with pictures (and videos) that show you how it’s done.

Plus, you don’t even have to take out real estate open house ads. Simply making a post with quality pictures and well-appointed hashtags can provide all of the free open house advertising you need.

14. Consider using Craigslist

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly 44% of buyers go online to find homes for sale. With millions of users and monthly page views in excess of 50 billion, you’re more likely than not to find several potential buyers on Craigslist.

15. Use an iBuyer platform

iBuyer platforms provide a quick and efficient way to sell your home. They employ algorithms to calculate an appropriate price for your home, taking into account several factors such as the condition of the home and necessary repairs. Once you fill their onboarding form and answer all their questions, you can usually receive an offer within 24 hours.

16. List on FSBO websites

Apart from iBuyer platforms and online cash buyer companies, there are a few platforms that specialize in FSBO listings. These for sale by owner websites specially design their services to cater to sellers who prefer a solo sale. Some of the websites you might consider include FSBO.com, Fizber, Houzeo, and Trulia.

17. Place social ads

Paid social ads generate a lot of visibility due to the rate at which people use social media. A well targeted property advert supported with captivating pictures can garner interest in your house. Include a bit of FOMO (by noting that offers must be received within a limited time period, for example) and the ad might bring potential buyers running.

18. Sell with FSBO apps

Just like FSBO websites, for sale by owner apps provide specialized services for houses on sale without an agent. While some of these apps are created and maintained by current FSBO websites, not all companies have existing or functional apps. Exploring an app listing can provide critical visibility on mobile devices. For context, NAR reports that up to 78% of Generation Xers and 80% of millennials use mobile devices to find homes.