Have you ever wished you could see through the “hype” that every real estate agent dresses themselves up in and hire the best real estate agent to help you in buying or selling a home? With the explosion of internet marketing in the real estate industry over the last 10 years, there is not one single agent who ever advertises themselves as anything less than the absolute “best” in the business !
Stephen Brobeck, who is the Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of America has recently said “when it comes to real estate agents, we don’t have the information that we have on other service professionals”.
However, there are things you can do to pull back the curtain and accurately assess an agent’s level of experience and, therefore, competence. These two aspects in any business go hand in hand!
Ask an agent to provide you with a list of their sales for the past year? Don’t be afraid to ask them what their average yearly sales are and for how long? Ask an agent if you can contact the last three people they sold a house to for some feedback on the agent’s performance. It is easy for an agent to produce some documentation supporting their numbers and also provide you with a list of “happy” clients. You want to get at their level of experience! It is critical.
Just as doctors and lawyers “specialize”, your better real estate agents will also. The agent that advertises as expert over vast areas of different communities/cities is not someone to seriously consider. It’s kind of like hiring a repairman to handle an important job who tells you he is the best at plumbing, electricity, drywall, flooring, a/c, painting and anything else you need. What you need is someone who is really really good at more specific jobs and someone who has lot’s of experience. It is a fact that the best real estate agents will have particular areas that they specialize in and will not hesitate to tell you that there are areas they are not familiar with.
Having honest, frank discussion with a prospective real estate agent is essential. It is far more telling to have an agent answering questions rather than telling you about themself . A valuable tool in assessing an agent’s experience and knowledge is to ask about a specific neighborhood or community? Ask about recent sales, average sale price, average price per square foot, days on the market , number of bedrooms/bathrooms in certain houses, square footages. Always remember this; the agent that can answer these questions “on the fly” without having to get back to you is a good real estate agent who has done their homework and stays busy, full time in the business. It is information that you are after and the agent who has this in their head has reached this level of competence by being experienced and successful.