An Internet boost for do-it-yourself home sellers

Without paying a penny, sellers who go the FSBO (for sale by owner) route can add their houses to a Multiple Listing Service in California and 19 other states via a new online realty broker, www.iggyshouse.com.

The MLS -- the biggest, most encompassing listing database of homes for sale -- has long excluded those who try to sell their homes on their own, with few exceptions. The service remains important for sellers because agents routinely depend on its information, and Multiple Listing Services provide listings for many online sites, including the widely used www.realtor.com, which is owned by the National Assn. of Realtors.

The Realtors group has established guidelines for an MLS associated with its constituency -- member agents and brokers. Most agents are members. Privately governed, an MLS is not required to accept listings from nonmembers.

"It's not a public utility," said NAR spokesman Walter Molony. The result is that sellers who want their properties listed must either agree to pay an agent's commission -- generally 5% to 6% of the sales price -- or patronize a business that provides an MLS listing for a flat fee or as a part of a package.

IggysHouse Realty Inc., can place listings, according to Chief Executive Joseph Fox, because the licensed realty brokerage firm is a member of Multiple Listing Services. He expects his approach to reduce the number of sellers who depend on agents.

"They are catering to owners who would like to sell on their own, but we recognize they need help," Molony said.

"Our latest consumer survey of buyers and sellers shows that 83% of sellers use full-service brokerages, 9% use limited brokerages, including discount services and 8% use minimal services," he added.

There are roughly 900 local and regional Multiple Listing Services throughout the U.S., and buyers have long had free Internet access to the information through online sites.

But IggysHouse, which expects to be in all 50 states by year's end, Fox said, is the first Internet site to allow sellers to list on an MLS at no charge.