If you’re selling your home, here’s what you should look for in an agent.
Today I’ll discuss what listing agents do, and what you should look for in an agent when selling.
A listing agent’s skills are very different from those of a buyer’s agent or showing agent. A successful listing agent will have a proven track record, know their numbers, and have a large marketing budget to ensure that they get maximum exposure for the homes they list.
Before you hire representation to help you sell your home, research them. Take note of how they market their listings, if they include floor plans, whether or not they use professional photography, and if they use video marketing. If they’re doing these things for their listings, that means there’s a good chance they’ll do it for yours, as well.
“Make sure that you have a good working relationship with your listing agent.”
Next, look at the potential agent’s track record. See how long it takes for them to list and sell their properties. The average agent in our market sells their homes in 72 days. My listing agents and I sell homes two times faster—our average is 32 days.
Also, look into their list-to-sales price ratio; this shows what prices the agent sold homes for compared to what those homes were listed at. A higher ratio means they’re selling their homes for more money, and this figure is usually a good indication of what their future business will look like. For example, for homes listed at $1 million, the average agent sells their listings at 92%, whereas I sell them for 99%.
Be sure to interview more than one agent before you hire one. It’s important to get a feel for each person that you might work with. While the numbers are very important, you also need to be able to work with this person for three to four months at a time, so there needs to be chemistry. Selling a home is already stressful enough, so make sure that you have a good working relationship with your listing agent.
