Choosing the RIGHT Agent to Sell your Home

Published On: September 12, 2020|Categories: Home Sellers, Jasper IN Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Tips|Tags: Choosing a listing agent, choosing a realtor, Home Seller Tips, real estate agent, Selling Tips, tips to sell your home|

As good as it sounds to save money on commissions, selling a home without a real estate agent is a lot of work, and it comes with some risk.

Agents sell homes for a living. They know how to correctly price a home and how to market it. They also negotiate home sales for a living, which means home sellers have capable representation during what’s likely to be one of the largest financial transactions of their lifetimes.

Real estate professionals also know the market. They know what buyers are looking for in a home and how to get one ready to sell. Often, the right agent can be the difference between a home that sells quickly and one that languishes on the market and undergoes price drops.

With all that in mind, there are certain things to look for in a real estate agent and certain questions to ask when hiring one. If you’re selling your home, here’s how to choose a real estate agent.

Look for the right level of marketing

Sometimes, agents will offer lower sales commissions as a tradeoff for a reduced marketing budget. It might be a way to save some money, but shrinking a home’s marketing scope is usually not a great idea unless you’re in a super-hot seller’s market.

You’ll want to ask prospective agents about their signage, digital marketing plan, visuals such as photos and video, social media strategy, and whether they’ll have open houses. A listing agreement should always include posting the home on a multiple listing service. The more exposure your home gets, the faster and closer to asking price it will sell.

Keep in mind that during times when people aren’t touring homes in person very often, virtual tours and digital sales tools are especially important.

Seek local expertise

If you have a friend who just sold their house and were thrilled with their listing agent, they might refer you to them. If your friend lives across town, however, it might not be the greatest referral.

Agents must be able to provide a lot of information about not just a home for sale, but the area where it is. An agent who doesn’t know the neighborhood is going to have a harder time quickly providing enough accurate information.

Just as important is the familiarity with other homes in the area. An agent who’s experienced in a particular community knows what homes that are selling have to offer. They understand how your home measures up to the competition.

It’s entirely fair to ask a potential listing agent about the number of transactions they close per month in your locale.

Go by the numbers

In addition to the number of transactions in your area, there are some other numbers you should ask about. You can look online and see how many listings they currently have, but that doesn’t always tell the whole story.

It’s helpful to know the average time on the market for an agent’s listings. It’s reasonable to ask to see listing prices compared to final sales prices of closed sales. A good listing agent will be happy to provide these figures.

The other number to consider is the recommended sales price. Some sellers will choose an agent because they suggest the highest asking price. But no agent can tell you what your home will sell for. They can show you recent comparable sales and nearby pending sales, and you decide your asking price. But your home is ultimately worth what a buyer is willing to pay.

Homes that are overpriced from the start are slow to sell and often require price reductions. Choosing an agent because they volunteer the highest asking price doesn’t always pay off.

The bottom line

There are plenty of reasons to choose to hire a real estate agent to sell your home. By keeping a few things in mind and asking the right questions, you should also be able to choose the right one.

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