Top 4 Must-Haves For A Great Realtor

Choosing a REALTOR based on a friend’s helpful recommendation can be easy and save you a lot of time doing your own research. But, it’s a little-known fact that using a friend’s referral of a pleasant and trustworthy agent probably won’t get you the best deal on a new home, or sell your current home for the most money. Your friend, without knowing it, might actually be doing you a disservice. You chose a doctor or a school based on more than just bedside manner or friendly environment. You’d want to make sure that the doctor had the right experience and positive outcomes for other patients. And you’d probably evaluate a school based on factors like statewide ranking, student-teacher ratios, graduation rates, standardized test scores, and objective evaluations from neutral third parties, like US News and World Reports Best High Schools.

Making a similarly educated choice about your real estate agent – the person who will affect your family’s home and financial future for the next 20 years – is difficult. There isn’t a lot of easily accessible public information about real estate agents outside of agent ratings, and every agent seems to be a 5-star agent. To ensure that you’re using an agent who’s going to work hard for you, will always keep you best interest in mind, will negotiate hard, but is easy to work with, we’ve put together a few tips so you can tell whether a referral is really the right agent.

Here’s how to find and understand your agent’s success history:

Neighborhood Specialty

Most metro areas have a number of neighborhoods – each unique, with their own local real estate trends. Agents typically don’t represent all of these neighborhoods knowledgeably. It is important to work with an agent who really knows the in’s and out’s of your particular neighborhood. A top listing agent will know individuals in the area looking to buy your home, and the appropriate pricing strategies to entice your neighborhood’s distinct buyers. A top buyer’s agent will know of listings to show you that aren’t even public yet, and which homes offer deals to be had.

Price Performance

How well does your agent negotiate a purchase price compared to other agents? Even for your “perfect” home, there’s no benefit to being house rich and cash poor. It’s helpful find a buyer’s agent who consistently purchases homes for their clients for further under listing price than the rest of the competition. An agent who averages a purchase price of 20% under listing price is much more likely to get you a better price on your new home than the agent who averages only 5% under listing price. Similarly, a listing agent who consistently sells homes over listing price is the one likely to do the same foryou when you’re selling.

Market Performance

Sometimes markets are favorable for buyers, like during the recession; finding a great deal on a home during these times is easy. Other times, like in 2007 just prior to the housing collapse, finding a great deal was nearly impossible. You’ll often pay over listing price. In difficult markets like that your agent still has the ability to make a difference in the price you pay. If, in a seller’s market, the average home is selling for 10% over listing price, the agent who averages just 3% over listing price can get you a great deal on your home – relative to the market average. Sometimes you can’t help the type of market you’re looking to buy in, but you can mitigate it with the proven top-performing agent.

Time on Market (when selling)

As a seller, maximizing the profit on your home sale while minimizing the time is takes to find a buyer and close the deal are both important. The less time spent dealing with the headache of showings, carrying two mortgages, or dealing with contract negotiations the better. Top seller’s agents have the ability to put more profit from your home in your pocket faster than every other agent in your area, due to their connections to qualified buyers and great pricing strategies that attract multiple interested buyers. There are a lot of licensed real estate agents who call themselves professionals, but only a few agents who actually make a good living, and fewer who really outperform the local market consistently. In Los Angeles, for example, there 20,199 agents who have listed or sold a home in a the last year. About 75% of those agents only help one or two clients a year, while the top LA agents have experience with 20 homes or more. each year. You might be tempted to go with a friend’s referral based on their personality, but you’ll have a better real estate transaction if you use a top agent who specializes in your area, and specializes in either buying or selling.