by : Donald Plunkett

Largely driven by military relocations, Californians either relocating to a lower cost market or moving back home and retirees moving to the area from colder climates, Yuma real estate transaction volume is high relative to its estimated area population of about 190,000 people and perhaps 80,000 winter residents. Especially with military personnel stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma (MCAS), U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG), and other facilities, a short home ownership period of two to three years does not often lead to having exorbitant amounts of equity from which to pay selling costs. Since real estate commissions, title insurance, escrow fees and other charges can for some sales exceed seven to eight percent of the sales price, many Yuma sellers look for an alternative selling method to save them money.

For many residents of Yuma, Somerton, Wellton, Dateland, San Luis, and other cities, the decision to save money while maximizing exposure is simple. They choose a flat fee MLS listing rather than either a traditional high cost listing or selling by owner. With a flat fee MLS listing, a seller's property is placed in the Yuma Association of Realtors MLS. This is the same multiple listing service utilized by local Yuma County real estate agents and brokers to locate properties for sale. Besides being able to find properties for their clients, agents show properties listing in the Yuma MLS knowing that there is a certain cooperative commission available to them in the event that the buyer is able to close escrow on a purchase. The most common commission figure placed in the MLS is 3%; this amount is paid from the seller's proceeds. While this is still a lot of money, a seller with a flat fee listing would still save the commission percentage normally paid to the listing agent. So if the seller were expecting to pay 6% total commission, the commission paid would actually be half of that.

With the Internet becoming an increasingly common means of searching properties, Yuma sellers with an MLS listing benefit from having their listing show up on websites such as Realtor.com, Yuma Sun's myYumaHome.com, and local large brokerage and agent websites. Many large Yuma brokers such as ERA Matt Fischer, Realty Executives of Yuma, Coldwell Banker Crimson Sky Realty, and others operate websites which allow consumers to search not only that brokerage's listings but listings from all Yuma MLS participants. It is important to note that this search only shows a limited view of the listing as the main purpose is to compel the consumer to finish their research and obtain property showings by using the services of their brokerage. So a potential homebuyer in Canada, California, Montana, or any other locale (including local Yuma area buyers) would likely begin their research at one of the sites mentioned, then arrange for a full service buyer's agent to email more detailed listing updates while arranging showings once ready to purchase a home. This combination of high technology with high levels of human interaction will make flat fee listings even more important in coming years as they will drive exposure of one's property to the entire marketplace.