New Canadian FSBO service launches

A new online service for homeowners wishing to sell their own homes, CanadaByOwner.com, has been launched by established FSBO company ByOwner.com.

According to Kevin Wood, ByOwner.com's chief executive officer, the Canadian service scored 506 new listings in the first month.

"In Canada people tend to use real estate agents for transactions more than in the US, but I feel that's mostly because there was not near as many alternatives," said Wood.

Three-fourths of homeowners who try selling their homes themselves are successful, according to data released by Owners.com, an online service that helps owners sell without an agent.

According to a 2005 survey from Murray Consulting, one-third of sellers were confident they could sell their own homes, up from 18 percent in 2002, the company reported in October.

The consulting company's audit of for-sale-by-owner Web sites found that 75,124 FSBO sellers listed online across the top four FSBO sites. According to their audit, nationwide listings on top FSBO sites as of Oct. 19 were: 49,719 at Owners.com; 12,869 at Forsalebyowner.com; 9,220 at Byowner.com; and 3,316 at Fsbo.com.

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