How to Choose a Listing Agent.

What a Listing Agent Can Do For You

Learn More About... Preparing to Sell Your Home Home Sale Process How to Choose a Listing Agent? Why List With Us? Moving Checklist Referrals

There are two critical rules: DO NOT close a listing agent based on their estimated sale price or their commission amount.

Listing Price

1. Agents do not determine price - the market does.
2. All buyers and their agents have the same information on homes that have sold and analyze that information the same way regardless of who the listing agent might be.
3. Many agents will attempt to "buy" the listing by quoting a high price and telling you they can get that price because of their vast network or great marketing plan. That's rarely true and will lead you to hire the wrong agent and waste valuable marketing time because the house is overpriced.
4. Remember that the price discussed before an agent gets hired is usually just a best guess because they probably have not yet done the detailed market analysis needed to value the house correctly. If they say they have done that detailed work, ask to see it.
5. A listing agent should give you a range of prices and encourage you to base your financial plan on the most conservative end of that range.

Commission

1. Commission is only one component of what you really care about - the net profit you'll generate from your sale. If the best agent costs a little more, they'll likely make that up in giving you better advice on preparing your home, have a better pricing strategy and handle your negotiations better than an agent who needs to discount commission to get business.
2. Consider why an agent feels they need to reduce commission to get business and whether it reflects a lack of confidence in themselves or their plan to sell your home.
3. If a listing agent reduces commission, they are likely to offset that by reducing the commission being offered to a buyers agent (can discourage showings) and cutting back on some marketing costs.

In addition to avoiding the two major mistakes so many sellers make, there are other considerations as well. A listing agent should provide, at a minimum:

1. Professional signage, including directional signs if your home isn't on a major street.
2. Electronic lockbox so you can determine who went into your house and when.
3. System to gather feedback from buyers and agents and share that data with you, which is important to identify buyer concerns and pricing issues.
4. Detailed advice on preparing your home, preferably an agent that is certified in home staging, so your home ends up the favorite all buyers see.
5. Use of a professional photographer to ensure that your home looks the best possible online and in print.
6. Use of not only "free" third party websites but all website including those that require agent to pay to list your house for maximum online exposure.
7. Premium positioning on all websites that provide that option with a full portfolio of those professional photos - both so your home catches the attention of buyers first.
8. High quality color flier. Available at the sign post for both potential buyers and others who might have friends, family or coworkers who might be interested in the house; and inside for buyers who have seen the house so they can remember yours in the best light after their long day seeing homes.
9. Consistent information for you regarding new listings that will compete with you, price adjustments of competitive homes and buyer feedback.
10. Convenient system for buyer agents to make showing appointments.
11. Open houses that are staffed by your listing agent whenever possible or by an agent who knows the ins and outs of your house.

A good listing agent should also have many of these qualifications:

• Higher education and certification that demonstrate both greater technical skills and a high level of personal commitment to their real estate career.
• Honesty. If any agent is unwilling to shoot straight right from the start, how will they handle things if they make a mistake or something doesn't go according to plan? This is especially transparent in how they handle the pricing and home preparation conversations.
• Commitment to direct communication with both you and buyers/agents versus delegating communication to support staff.
• Good negotiation skills so they can not only obtain the best price and terms but also handle problems that arise in your favor.
• A proven track record of selling homes timely and without multiple price reductions.
• We are long-time local residents who know the community.
• Affiliation with a strong company that is large enough to provide solid administrative support; and a company which has a large national relocation network, a national advertising presence, significant market share in your community and productive agents.
• Use of the best technology available, both for marketing your home and for feeding you information throughout the process.
• A moderate level of business; not enough business suggests an agent just isn't that successful but too much business indicates an agent who will prioritize hustling new business over concentrating on selling your home. Even the best agent can't adequately service more than 6-7 listings and 3-4 buyers at the same time.