Selecting an Agent to Sell Your Home
If you are considering selling your home, you are probably aware that it's a buyer's market these days. The large number of foreclosures has reduced property values and created signficant competition for home sellers. Correct pricing is critical and an agent who is willing and able to go the extra step to market your property is a necessity if you want to sell your home for the best possible price. Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a real estate agent to list your property.
- Multiple Listing Service. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is probably the single most important tool for marketing your home. Allowing an agent to list your home on the MLS means it will be promoted to all the real estate agents in your area who are MLS members (and the majority of agents are.) It also means that your home will automatically be available to be viewed on real estate websites such as Realtor.com, Trulia.com, and Zillow.com in addition to brokerage and agent websites such as this one. Choose an agent who knows how to leverage the power of the Mulitple Listing Service and the websites that draw from its database. When you interview, ask the agent how many pictures of your home will be posted (he/she should say a minimum of 15 - 25). Ask to see his/her current listings online to see how much effort was put into writing the ad copy and descriptions.
- Importance of Technology. All Realtors can list your home on the Multiple Listing Service, but the majority don't use other marketing tools to reach the 90% of real estate buyers who use the Internet to start their home search. Finding an agent who has invested in online marketing is an indication that that agent understands what it takes to sell a property in today's market. Since most real estate buyers prefer to remain anonymous during the early stages of shopping for a home, it is important to pick an agent who has an online presence and a way of attracting and building the trust of interested buyers. When you interview agents, ask them about their specific plans to market your home on the Internet. Ask to see their website. Find out about the strategies they'll use to promote your home so that it draws attention and stands out from the competition.
- Pricing. Every seller hopes to get the best possible price for his/her home. But a common mistake that sellers often make is picking one agent over another because of the selling price he/she recommends. Price should be determined by looking carefully at recent sales and current competition. There are a lot of tools and resources available to help you determine your home's current value, including the Market Snapshot tool and the database of sold homes available on this website. You may want to use these tools to do a little research yourself before interviewing agents to help you gain a realistic perspective of home prices in your neighborhood. Choose an agent based upon skills, knowledge ,experience and markteting plan first and foremost. Then work with that agent to determine the smartest strategy for pricing your home.
- Negotiation Skills. There is an art to negotiating a real estate sale and seasoned agents tend to do it best. Ask the agents you interview for examples of sales where they negotitated for the best interest of their client. While getting the best price is important, you also want an agent who knows how to negotiate the the best terms and conditions of your sale.
If you want to the names of agents who have experience sellng homes in your neighborhood, feel free to contact our Customer Service representative for recommendations. We have over 200 agents within our network from which to choose.