How Would You Choose Your Real Estate Agent

Like any product or service we purchase, selecting the right real estate agent for you is a very personal decision. A lot of it will go on intangible characteristics like how you feel about that person and possible existing relationships or recommendations.

But alone, is this enough to ensure that your highest valued asset is being handled in a way that will achieve the absolute best outcome.

You also have to be able to look past what the prospective agent is saying in the interview with you and look for substance. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions. Why do you think it is worth this much? Who do you think are the target buyers? How can you reach them? What is your buyer strategy? How do you make a difference in the negotiation. What improvements can we do for a better return on investment? The laziest path to winning business is to tell you everything you want to hear. Think about where this could take you if other professionals adopted the same approach — your doctor avoids the conversation that you are high risk of heart attack and what you need to do to improve your situation because they don’t want to upset you. Your accountant goes with the flow on how you want to do your tax return and you end up with massive penalties for getting it wrong. The Yes Sir, Yes Madam style is a recipe for costly mistakes.

So what are some of the more tangible ways you can measure what each agent can bring to the table for you

You can look at Track Record.

On the surface you can look at who has the most listing & sales around you. But go deeper.

Find out what their List to Sell Ratio Is? This is the difference between how many properties that agent has listed for sale versus how many they sold. Signboards creates visibility, but you want to know what are they like at delivering the result. If they only sell 6 out of every 10 properties they market, why is that. Could you end up in the 40% that fail?

Likewise, what is their list price to sale price ratio. Are they achieving what they and their clients set out to achieve? Or do they average a drop of $60,000 from what they started at. You have to look beyond 1 or 2 sales to see the true pattern. I would suggest their last 20–30 sales gives a much better representation of their ability to consistently perform.

Client Reviews.

Every business has them. My goal from the outset is to provide the service and results where every client wants to provide a review. So ask the agents where they collect reviews because there are many different platforms out there now. And have a look. Of their last 20 sales, how many seller reviews were provided. 100% 90% or 50%. If its is lower, could it be that even though the agent got the sold sticker up, the experience didn’t live up to the hype. Ask do they have recent clients that you could call and speak with about their experience.

Have a personal experience or get a secrets shopper for you.

If you are active in the market before you start the selling process, pay attention to how you are treated as a buyer. When you send an enquiry, how quickly is it returned. Lately I am hearing more and more from buyers that their enquiry has never been returned. Imagine if that was the buyer who would have paid $20,000 more than the final sale price — but they never got chance. Attend an open home? Is the agent set up and ready before the start time? or are they running late & disorganised. What is the quality of information provided? How well does the agent answer questions? If you ask where the hot water system is or the sewer line, have they prepared themselves so well to know what consumers are going to ask? or do they wing it?

And if you have already started interviewing agents before you have done the above, ask a friend or family member to do a secret shop. Make sure that everyone is treated the same, and you are not just being given attention because they know you have something to sell.

Resources

What do they as an individual and the brand they work with bring to the table. More importantly, what are their points of difference. Because their will be lots of similarities on this point. So focus on the unique aspects. Is their technology they have over others that makes your experience easier. Or reaches more buyers than others? What is their capacity individually? Are they carrying 15–20 listings and the work is done by a team. That can be ok, but then find out the skillset and experience of those involved.

If you combine all of the above in your decision making, as well as the likeability factor that we started off with, you will be far better placed to enjoy a great result and experience.

Can you think of anything else that you would apply to this decision. Leave a comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.