Choosing a real estate agent – how can you tell who will do the best job for you?

Choosing a real estate agent is probably the most important decision you will make in the entire selling process. A real estate agent represents you, the seller and they can make or break your sale.

So when choosing a real estate agent how can you tell who will do the best job for you? For the typical home owner who sells their home, on average every seven years, unfortunately there is no simple answer.

When choosing a real estate agent I need to clarify some important jargon.

When a seller rings a real estate agent it’s normally to organise a valuation on their property. This is called an appraisal. It is also their opinion generally formed by recent comparable sales.

The fact that a real estate agent has told you your property will sell for a certain price is mostly meaningless in any practical sense. Inevitably from this some real estate agents get caught out or perceived to have misled their clients by misquoting on price.

Only a sworn valuation by a registered valuer can be relied upon at law. Furthermore a seller can use this valuation to their advantage. Firstly it gives you clarity and helps you set in your own mind a reserve or walkaway price. It enables you to negotiate and tailor a commission incentive with your real estate agent above this invisible price that you, the seller is only aware of.

There is no defining set of characteristics when choosing a real estate agent in absolute terms. Different techniques work for different personalities. Following are some characteristics and traits that spring to mind that you should look out for upon choosing a real estate agent.

This includes but is not limited to are: Great listeners. Superb communicators. Passionate. Committed. Hard workers. Problem solvers. Knowledgeable. Experienced. Organised and creative. Now how many real estate agents can you automatically think of that tick all these boxes? It’s not easy is it?

Another important factor in choosing a real estate agent is being able to analyse their submissions (proposals). Too many real estate agents are selected on commission alone. That is the real estate agent who charges the least. If they can’t negotiate a fair commission with you what says they’re going to be able to negotiate a successful sale on your behalf?

When choosing a real estate agent you want one who believes in their abilities and that will get you the best price.  The next trap a lot of sellers find themselves in is being convinced by their real estate agent to spend far too much on marketing.

As a rule of thumb most real estate agents would like their vendors to allocate at least 1% of the value of their home to marketing. Remember, Real Estate is the only one of few industries where you, the vendor, pays basically for the agent’s branding. It is here where you should question why such a significant investment is required. Overexposure can be detrimental.

On a final note, with more and more Buyers advocates representing purchasers these days, one critical factor when choosing a real estate agent to represent you is to be able to find a great negotiator.

The best and most highly skilled negotiators in real estate agent firms generally speaking are the Directors of their respective organisations.

Therefore if your real estate agent recommends you take your home to Auction it pays to request to have a skilled real estate auctioneer which most likely will be one of the Directors.

If your home doesn’t sell under the hammer, which is a common occurrence these days, at least you will have a skilled negotiator by your side to negotiate you the best possible price.

Vendor Marketing – Melbourne’s most qualified vendor advocates, specialises in both property marketing and agent selection for property sellers within Melbourne, therefore we are highly qualified when choosing a real estate agent for you.