85-Year-Old Retired Merced Senior Skips Realtor Commissions, Sells Home Online and Moves to Austin

SIMI VALLEY, Calif., June 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Homepie®, Inc., a leading provider of do-it-yourself tools for home buyers and sellers, announced today that they are seeing a surge in home sellers leaving California for low-cost housing and tax relief in Texas. Most recently, 85-year-old Ruth Slimp sold her home on Madroan Ave in Merced online with Homepie.com and moved in with her son Ron’s family on Lake Austin.

“Offers over asking price as soon as a home hits the market has caused a lot of sellers to question the value of paying listing commissions to Realtors,” says Brad Rice, CEO of Homepie. According to the California Association of REALTORS®, the average sale price of property purchased or sold in California is $717,930. The average commission on a real estate transaction is 6% of the sale price, and is usually paid by the seller, then split between the seller’s and buyer’s agents.

The Slimp family home was built by their son Ron Slimp and his father in 1972. At age 85, Ruth decided that it was time to sell the homestead and move in with her son’s family. The Slimps recognized that the homebuyer demand for housing is at record highs and that selling the house themselves would allow them to save the average 6% commission. As it turned out, they saved $18,000 (which amounted to 4% of the selling price) by listing the home themselves online using the free listing marketplace at www.homepie.com. In this case, the buyer’s agent received a 2% commission.

Ron Slimp managed the transaction remotely from his home in Austin. “The service at Homepie was excellent. They marketed the home widely on the internet and managed the closing process. Honestly, I do not know why anyone would use a Realtor to list and sell a home in this hot market, especially when services like Homepie are free.”

Texas Gov Greg Abbott has coined the phrase “Don’t California my Texas,” but that does not seem to be ebbing the tide of more than 80,000 Californians that move to the Lone Star State.

About Homepie

Homepie is the place where savvy consumers go for commission-free help to buy or sell homes. Today, nearly one in 10 home sales already close directly between buyer and seller without a real estate agent. Now, with Homepie’s central online marketplace and a simple step-by-step process, anyone can do the same with confidence. Homepie has all the tools to list, market, search, view, offer, negotiate, and auto-generate a purchase agreement that is digitally signed. Best of all, they offer a 100% free listing for consumers, as the recommended service providers (photography, insurance, inspectors, etc.) cover the costs. Homepie takes the worry and guesswork out of home buying and selling. Learn how at homepie.com.

Media Contact for Interviews:
Myra Jolivet
myra@wavgroup.com
760-610-9096

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6d1e86db-0a6c-40c5-a4d6-6c49604da246