Fathom, ByOwner Deal Turns FSBO Into Listing Pipeline

Fathom Holdings Inc. has entered a strategic partnership with for-sale-by-owner marketplace ByOwner that aims to turn DIY sellers into a structured listing funnel for its agents. Under the agreement, ByOwner—operator of ByOwner.com and BuyOwner.com—will refer sellers and buyers who ask for additional support to Fathom’s nationwide agent network. The partnership, announced in a Nov. 7, 2025, press release, is designed to convert FSBO activity into full-service transactions handled by Fathom Realty agents.

For real estate professionals, the move signals a shift: instead of treating FSBO as a competing lane, tech-enabled brokerages are starting to integrate with FSBO platforms and using them as mid-funnel lead sources.

How the Fathom–ByOwner Partnership Works

According to Fathom’s announcement to investors, the partnership centers on a simple handoff.

When ByOwner users indicate they want professional help—whether with pricing, marketing, negotiations, or paperwork—they are matched with a Fathom agent in their local market. ByOwner keeps its core promise of empowering owners to start on their own, while offering a built-in “upgrade path” to full service, rather than forcing consumers to begin a separate agent search.

Fathom highlights three metrics behind the deal:

• About 6% of U.S. home sales are FSBO.
• More than 20% of those FSBO sellers ultimately move to full-service representation.
• Fathom Realty earns a higher company split on transactions that originate from the ByOwner channel than on standard, internally sourced business.

For brokers and team leaders, that last point is notable: the partnership is structured not just as a lead source, but as a higher-margin business for the brokerage, while still supplying agents with high-intent seller and buyer opportunities.

FSBO: A Small but Highly Convertible Segment

The National Association of Realtors’ 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers reports that FSBOs account for just 6% of home sales, while 90% of sellers ultimately use an agent. 

Fathom’s framing is that within this small slice of the market, a meaningful share of owners are already predisposed to convert. Many start with optimism about saving on commissions, but then encounter challenges with pricing, marketing exposure, offers, contingencies, and disclosures. The ByOwner integration is meant to catch those sellers at the moment they decide they want help, and deliver them directly to an agent instead of losing them to a generalized portal or random agent search.

What It Signals for Brokerages and Teams

At an industry level, the Fathom–ByOwner partnership hints at how brokerages may respond to the ongoing rise of DIY and fee-conscious selling options. Instead of ignoring FSBO or relying solely on one-off agent prospecting, brokerages can negotiate platform-level relationships that:

• Embed an “agent option” directly into FSBO and other DIY workflows.
• Enable warm, structured handoffs when consumers hit friction.
• Support stronger company economics on a centrally sourced, tech-enabled business.