3 Top Tips When Choosing the Best Real Estate Agent

Choosing the best real estate agent to help you sell isn’t nearly as complicated as many home sellers think it is. In fact, the modern era provides a great many tools to help make this task a breeze for sellers. Here are a few handy tips for sellers that are still looking for the perfect agent to help them sell.

Tip 1: Make Sure Your Agent is a Local Agent

A good real estate agent is one that has put in the time to gain the qualifications necessary for doing this job. This years-long process of becoming licensed to operate in the different states of Australia is comprehensive and methodical, requiring that the agent complete the qualification that is relevant in their state, before undertaking in-service training. They are then able to complete the registration process in order to be kept legally accountable for the work they do.

As their training pertains specifically to the guidelines for the real estate industry that are enforced in particular states, it makes sense that sellers enlist the services of an agent that is licensed to operate in their state when deciding to put their home on the market.

Home sellers should ensure that the real estate agents they are interviewing to help them sell are indeed registered and licensed to do business in a particular state. This is easy to do, as sellers need simply run the agents’ accreditation against the public register of the state that they operate in. There are online portals to do exactly this in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

There are various obvious benefits to choosing a real estate agent that operates locally. First off, agents that do their work in a particular city or suburb get to know and understand the intricate undercurrents of the local property market. They understand how the local real estate industry is influenced by the ebbs and tides of the national and international markets, and can see how the subtle and sometimes tumultuous economic changes on a national and international level play out in sales. This means that they have a good grasp of the outcome of a sale, and of what a realistic asking price on a property might be.

They have knowledge of reliable and capable contractors that can assist the seller in getting the property ready to be put on the market, and have access to a large database of potential buyers that are looking to acquire a home in the area.

Real estate agents know how to market the house efficiently and know what marketing approaches work well in the particular region they do business in.

All in all, local agents that are qualified and licensed to do their work in their particular state come armed with both knowledge and experience of doing business in their city or suburb. When it comes to undertaking one of the most significant financial transactions of one’s life, it is essential to have someone by your side who values the best outcome for his or her clients – a qualified, licensed and trustworthy local agent is exactly that person.

Tip 2: Word of Mouth

But how do sellers find real estate agents who are qualified and experienced, whilst also being attuned to their specific needs and requirements regarding the sale of their home? In most metropolitan parts of Australia, there definitely isn’t a shortage of real estate agents, but finding one that ticks all your boxes could seem like a mammoth task.

Finding a real estate agent you can trust starts with doing a bit of research. Even in an era where most of our needs are addressed online – the next section provides a more detailed overview of just how the internet can be used to broaden the search – there is still value in the tried-and-trusted method of simple word of mouth.

In this regard, it is valuable to talk to friends and family who might also have sold their own property recently. They have already undertaken the arduous task of trying to sift the wheat from the chaff, and will almost certainly be able to advise you against certain real estate agents or agencies, helping to narrow your search.

Remember to ask the person you’re discussing real estate agents with to give you an idea of how many days their property spent on market. This is usually a good indication (albeit not always, as the markets may heavily influence a sale, especially when a buyer’s market is in effect) of a specific agent’s salesmanship. Fewer days spent on market signals an agent that knows their stuff and works hard to get a property sold.

Also ask about an agent’s disposition to understanding the needs and requirements of the person whose home they are helping to sell. Good agents advise their clients on the best marketing routes to follow, but will always listen to the concerns a seller has. Remember, you will have to be able to be completely honest with your real estate agent and will have to be able to air concerns in a candid manner. When there is a good rapport between agent and seller, there is a far greater chance that the seller will ultimately be satisfied with the service provided by their real estate agent.

Asking around is a good place to start, but once you’re ready to refine your search for the perfect agent even further, it’s time to take the hunt online.

Tip 3: Use the Internet

The internet might have been a mainstay in our lives before Covid-19 hit, but since the arrival of the pandemic, it has become an even more indispensable tool in the arsenal of homebuyers, sellers and of the real estate agents helping them to buy or sell.

When initially looking for an agent to help them sell, people planning to put their home on the market should certainly also utilise this vast resource to expand their search and get a good grasp of the agent pool that is available to them.

Online agent finders like Perfect Agent are a godsend when taking the search for credible real estate agents to the world wide web. With tools like these, sellers are able to narrow their search by specifying the characteristics they require of a real estate agent, while also giving more detail about the property they are selling. Providing this type of information lets Perfect Agent recommend agents that understand the needs of sellers, and are also qualified and experienced to provide assistance in the best way possible. A general web search might introduce you to your local agent pool, but online agent finders provide better-tailored results that take all the needs of a seller into account.

When you have a list of recommended agents, it is time to also take a look at the agencies that they represent. Social media is a great way to gauge and collect real-life feedback about an agency from people that have already made use of its services. Visit the agencies’ social media pages on Twitter and Facebook for comments about the service offering agencies provide. While these groups and pages may contain isolated comments and feedback given by frustrated clients who have their knife into the agency, a barrage of bad reviews should signal that sellers should steer clear.

Narrow Down Real Estate Agents and Interview Them

When sellers have their shortlist of candidates ready, they should interview each individual agent to get the gist of the service they offer. Agent interviews may seem like a waste of time to many sellers, but this doesn’t negate letting this process slide altogether.

Interviewing agents is important because sellers shouldn’t take the online information that is available about an agent on face value. Perhaps most importantly, sellers will be able to see whether they get along with an agent when they actually sit down with the agent. This is important because of the close-knit relationship this transaction will require between the seller and their real estate agent. If a seller isn’t able to speak openly about exactly what they want, they may leave out information that is pertinent to the sale when briefing their agent.

Agents and sellers obviously don’t have to be best friends – this is a business partnership, after all – but there should be a good relationship to ensure that both agent and seller understand exactly what is expected of one another. Here are a few tips regarding the questions that will help sellers get a good feel for the agents vying to help them sell their home.

Bottom Line

Finding an agent that keenly understands the area they do business in is very important if sellers are hoping to get their home sold quickly. Not only are local agents licensed to do business in their state, but they’re also better agents because they understand how the local property market works and how comparable properties fare on the market.

Finding an agent they can trust may prove a conundrum to sellers, but online real estate agent finders like Perfect Agent do all the necessary vetting to ensure each agent that is recommended to buyers or sellers is licensed to operate in their state. Once they’ve determined a shortlist of candidates, sellers should interview each agent to find a person they get along with, as a good rapport between agent and seller is key to securing a quick sale.

Are you still looking for an agent that understands your unique needs? Let Perfect Agent assist you today.