Do I Need a Realtor® to Sell My Tri-Cities House?

You’re reading a real estate agent’s blog, so you probably think you know how I’ll answer the “Do I need a Realtor®?” question.

But before you jump to conclusions, hear me out. Because my opinion is that most Tri-Citians — but not all — need a real estate agent to sell their house.

I understand the question and the thought behind it. Taking the FSBO (For Sale by Owner) route might save you thousands of dollars in Realtor commissions while also giving you complete control over the sales process.

But there’s plenty of data and evidence to suggest that you might be costing yourself money in the end. And yes, control over the process sounds nice…but many Tri-Cities homeowners find it to be a huge hassle and eventually hire an agent, after all. (According to the National Assn. of Realtors®, only 6% of home sales were FSBO in 2024.)

Here’s the TL;DR of what I believe, based on 20+ years of selling homes in Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, and all over the area:

While selling a home by yourself is possible and even a good idea for some homeowners, a skilled real estate agent offers invaluable expertise and resources that can save you time, stress, and potentially even money in the long run.

Let me explain how and why I believe that. I’ll get to the money angle in a moment. First, let’s talk about why you’ll probably find it difficult to sell your home without a Realtor.

Selling Your Home is Difficult

In my experience, most homeowners — and I’ve spoken to hundreds over the years! — don’t fully understand what goes into selling a home successfully. Here’s a look at what happens before you even put your house up for sale:

• market research and knowledge (I believe we have the best and most accurate market reports right here on my website, but it’s not the same as being in the trenches every day like a Realtor is.)
• deciding on a list price
• getting the home ready to sell
• paperwork (lots of it!)

And then here’s what you have to do after the home hits the market:

• market the home to prospective buyers
• coordinate open houses and showings
• negotiate (usually against a Realtor who’s very skilled in getting what their buyers want!)
• navigate the inspection and appraisal process
• more negotiating, depending on the inspection and appraisal results
• more paperwork if and when you reach an agreement with a buyer
• coordinate your move-out, signing appointments (especially problematic if you’ve moved away from the area), cleanings, and key transfer

Yes, you can do all that yourself. But please put a lot of honest thought into it before you make that kind of commitment.

Benefits of Using a Realtor to Sell Your House

There are a lot of reasons why 90% of sellers use a real estate agent. Here are a few.

1. Market knowledge

As a Realtor, I’m “in the market” every day, 8-10 hours per day and sometimes more. I’m in the MLS, looking at what’s selling and what’s not. I know what’s happening from one neighborhood to the next. I have hundreds of conversations every week with other agents and hear the stories of what’s happening with their clients — both buyers and sellers.

2. Pricing the home correctly

This is probably the biggest mistake I’ve seen FSBOs make over the years: not knowing the right price for their home. If you overprice it, the home will probably sit idly with no buyer interest for months. If you underprice the house, some lucky buyer (usually one who’s represented by a Realtor) gets a steal of a deal, and you could lose $5,000…$10,000…$50,000 or more.

Realtors know that the market determines your home’s value. I’ll crunch the numbers and analyze the current trends — researching recent sales of similar homes in your neighborhood — to come up with a price range where I think your home will attract the most buyer interest and ultimately sell for the most money and on your timeframe.

3. We make your home a showstopper

Everything they say about first impressions is true when it comes to selling a home. Buyers go through an emotional experience — they start to judge your home as soon as they pull up and park their cars. Within seconds of entering your home, they’ll start to decide if it’s a yes, no, or maybe.

Your home’s first impression needs to be a home run. That’s why we pay for professional staging with almost all of our listings — often to the tune of thousands of dollars!

4. Proven marketing

Selling a home involves a lot more than just putting a sign in the front yard. If you sell your home without a Realtor’s help, you’ll probably be missing out on the chance to list it in the MLS — our local database of all Tri-Cities homes for sale, which every Realtor in town accesses to help their buyers find homes to see.

But marketing a home goes way beyond that. In addition to home staging, we pay for professional photography so your home stands out online. We promote your home via social media, SEO, and email — including our private VIP Buyer’s Club list. We run a proven marketing system that gets your home seen widely, with an emphasis on two groups: active buyers and agents who currently represent active buyers.

5. Logistics are handled for you

Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want your phone ringing and buzzing at all hours of the day with questions from agents, requests to schedule showings, and more. (There are some days I don’t want that! 😅) That’s a Realtor’s job. We’ll take care of all that and more so you can go on living your life with as little interruption as possible.

6. Negotiations!

You’ll probably need to negotiate at least twice: first about the sales price, and second about the condition of the home and the buyer’s repair requests when they have a home inspection. The buyer will probably be represented by a real estate agent — a professional negotiator! — so you should have one repping you, too. As a Realtor, my job is to represent your interests during every negotiation, while also knowing when pushing back too hard might cause the buyer to back out entirely.

7. Paperwork and legalities

When negotiations are finished and both sides are happy, your Realtor’s job shifts to taking care of contracts and compliance with the laws surrounding property sales. We make sure all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed, and work with lending, title, and escrow professionals to make sure there are no surprises on (or before) closing day.

It’s true that you can hire a real estate attorney to represent your interests through some of the legal aspects of selling your home, but that attorney won’t help you get the price right, stage the home, market it, schedule showings, etc.

Okay, But Won’t I Save Money Without a Realtor?

You might. But you might not.

The total commission that gets paid to the sellers’ agent, and the compensation paid to the buyers’ agent, is negotiable and can vary. (There’s never been a “standard” commission rate in real estate.) You, as the seller, might end up paying all of it from the proceeds of the sale — or you might pay just your own agents’ fees. Again, it’s negotiable.

If your home sells with an agent’s help, total commission and compensation can be in the tens of thousands of dollars range.

Saving that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Sure. I get it.

But here’s what can happen if you sell your home without an agent:

1. You can underprice your home. Even if you’re only 10% off — meaning you sold your house for $400,000, but with an agent you could’ve sold it for $440,000 — you’ve lost $40,000. (According to data from the National Association of Realtors®, “the typical FSBO home sold for $380,000 compared to $435,000 for agent-assisted home sales.” Obviously, not all homes are equal, but no one knows better how to maximize your home’s value than an experienced agent.)
2. Buyers, who are typically represented by an agent, will offer less than market value knowing that you don’t have to pay your agent. (73% of buyers think they or their agent can out-negotiate FSBO sellers.)
3. Buyers will also ask/expect you to pay some or all of their agent’s fees.
4. You risk losing money in the negotiation process. The buyer’s agent’s job is to get you to sell the home for as little money as possible. Then, once you agree on a price, their job is to get you to spend as much money as possible fixing up the home before closing day.

In other words, hiring a real estate agent can save you a lot of money in the end.

When FSBO Makes Sense

As I said above, even though I believe most Tri-Cities homeowners should hire a real estate agent to sell their homes, there are situations where not using an agent makes sense. Here are a few:

1. You already know the buyer.

If you already have a buyer lined up and have agreed on a sales price, you may not need an agent’s help. You still risk having issues come up if there’s an inspection that uncovers damage, but if you’re selling to a family friend and don’t expect a contentious negotiation over things like that, using a real estate attorney to handle the paperwork might be all you need.

2. It’s an exceptionally strong seller’s market.

If the Tri-Cities’ housing market was strongly favoring sellers, to the point where you didn’t need to list your home in the MLS and didn’t need a real estate agent’s marketing expertise to maximize visibility, it might make sense to sell your home without an agent’s help. This would be even more viable if you plan to price your home aggressively to sell, rather than pricing it to make the most profit.

As I type this, we don’t have an exceptionally strong seller’s market. In fact, since about mid-2024, we’ve had more available homes for sale than in the past 10+ years. And home prices have been flat/steady since the beginning of 2022.

3. You have a unique home with limited appeal and know how to reach potential buyers.

If you have a “tiny home,” for example, or if your home has unique features that won’t appeal to a typical buyer, you might consider selling the home yourself. I don’t think we have many off-grid homes in Benton or Franklin counties, for example, but something like that is what I’m thinking about. Or maybe you have a home with a full-size, indoor gymnasium attached. If you’re part of a community of off-grid enthusiasts, a community of basketball fanatics, or a community built around whatever makes your home unique, you might be able to find your own buyer.

Those are a few situations where you might not need a Realtor to sell your home. If you believe that FSBO makes sense, you can get exposure for your home by listing it on Zillow.com, ForSaleByOwner.com, and others. I think both of those also offer additional tips and resources that might help.

Ready to Hire a Realtor to Sell Your Home?

If so, I’d be honored to represent you as your Tri-Cities agent! I’ve sold more than 600 homes across the Tri-Cities. Here’s what some of my past seller clients have said about what it’s like to work with me, beginning with Ginger — who started as a FSBO seller before calling me.

“I tried selling my own little home and had several sales fall through. I called Cari and told her I was done. Needless to say, it was sold quickly! With Cari McGee Real Estate Team, you get high energy, professionalism, and responsiveness, and let’s not forget, RESULTS!” – Ginger S.

“Our home sold for better than the asking price even though it was a buyer’s market! Cari’s advice and negotiation skills are the best. Get her team on your side and follow everything they suggest.” – Glenn F.

“With our first agent, we were dead in the water. Cari, with assistance from Sharon Atchison, staged our house and added that degree of warmth that had been missing with the prior agent/stager. With that additional help, we sold our home in a heartbeat.” – Margaret J.

“Cari, when I switched and started working with you you turned my frustration of months on the market into a pleasant and stress free experience and sold my house. I am blessed to have found you. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!” – Shannon S.

You can see more reviews on our website, or just Google “Cari McGee” to find more there. Let me suggest two more resources:

• If you’re planning to interview agents before choosing one to sell your home, here are some questions you should ask each agent.
• Here’s an overview of how the Cari McGee Team works with our seller clients.

Thanks for reading. I hope this answers your questions about the pros and cons of selling your Tri-Cities home without a Realtor. If you need more information or want to talk with me about selling your home, use the TEXT US tool below to instantly send a message straight to my phone. You can also call (509) 392-4705, or send an email via the form below.

-Cari