Darin Thompson here, Broker and Owner of Stuart St James.
I’ve got an exciting announcement I wanted to personally share with you.
In the spirit of putting myself out of business, I’m excited to announce the beta launch of a new flat fee MLS offering at Stuart St James which gives for sale by owner (FSBO) homeowners the opportunity to list and sell their Massachusetts property on the MLS for as low as $5 per day.
The brash entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, often talks about putting himself out of business. The spirit of this product launch is about advancing the real estate industry and the way things are currently done, lowering the barriers for homeowners selling their own home, and really, democratizing the real estate listing process.
Never before in Massachusetts has such a model been offered.
Today, I’m announcing that Massachusetts homeowners can now access the power of the MLS for a low daily fee via three listing packages that have been thoughtfully crafted and stocked with, in and of themselves, unique first-of-its-kind FSBO products and services.
Daily Flat Fee MLS Launch One of Many “Firsts”
The past 10+ years in Massachusetts real estate have been fun for me, and have included a number of “firsts” in the market. In 2006, I was the first ever to release a mashup of Google Maps and in depth coverage of Boston condo developments, in 2012, I launched the first ever 100% all digital flat fee MLS entry only listing platform in Entry Only New England.
The mashup was novel at the time, ubiquitous now. The all digital flat fee MLS platform remains ahead of the industry, yet realistically, not for long. Entry Only New England is the #1 flat fee MLS platform in the state of Massachusetts, the feedback from actual FSBOs validates the platform is the most trusted Massachusetts flat fee MLS entry only listing platform and head and shoulders above the rest.
I’m building on what I learned with Entry Only New England to launch this new Stuart St James product that allows FSBOs to list on the MLS for a low daily fee.
While brash, Vaynerchuk also strives to be “historically correct”, and this product launch, I predict, will see a lot of fast followers.
Having the ability to list your own home on the MLS for a low daily fee is something the market didn’t ask for because they didn’t know it was possible. It’s like realizing the benefit of combining a phone, walkman, digital camera, and watch into a single device – we didn’t know we should have all of this together, in an iPhone, until Apple released it, and then, it seemed so obvious and elegant.
Serving FSBOs Is Not Glamorous, yet Rewarding
I’ve said it before, FSBO is kind of a dirty word, especially among real estate brokers and agents. We probably need a new name, something that people would take seriously , not carry the “baggage” the current word does, and reflect the current level of sophistication that can be achieved with the tools and resources now available to FSBOs.
(Maybe that’s the next launch, a new name to replace FSBO).
Creating products and services specifically for the FSBO market is not glamorous or sexy, but, the relatively constant stream of praise, gratitude, and sincere thanks I receive from FSBOs is special.
And, speaking of being historically correct, it’s not going to change anytime terribly soon as flat fee MLS listings still only make up a low, but growing, single digit percentage of all listings that hit the market, but, more homeowners are going to realize it is actually not that hard to sell on their own, and do it well – having been professionally licensed in real estate for more than 10 years, I’ve earned the right to say the bar is not that high.
While it’s not the most high profile place to be, right now, I plan to continue pressing into the FSBO space, I believe there’s tremendous room for advancement. That passion is why I launched How to FSBO, a platform dedicated to, at the end of the day, leveling up for FSBOs in all ways.
Join Beta Launch of New Daily Flat Fee MLS Real Estate Listing Product
I am calling this a beta launch because I’d like to gather feedback on the offering, I know it’s not perfect, so, feel free to reach out. What I can say is that at the core, this new flat fee MLS product is built very similarly to Entry Only New England, which is quite polished.
What you’re getting, especially with the higher level listing packages, is a set of products and services that are in many cases, in and of themselves first of their kind, with true daily package pricing that has never been seen in Massachusetts before.
Ready to get started?