When you’re interviewing listing agents you’d like to think you’re comparing apples to apples, but the reality is you may not be able to rely solely on an agent’s stats to give you a true picture. The reality is you’re probably comparing the entire fruit bowl and not just apples!
A general listing agent question list you found online may cause you to pass up the BEST listing agent for you if you don’t dig a bit deeper. Agents vary GREATLY, and our stats don’t ever tell the full story. While some number might SEEM objective on the surface, they may actually prove to be anything but that when placed into context, so here are a few things to consider:
Final sold price vs. Initial List Price.
Setting list price is a cooperative activity. We present the stats and our recommended list price to sell a home. The seller won’t always agree with that price, so we MAY agree to a higher list price than we think the market will support. We may decide to list that home at the “elevated” price anyway because we’ve had a frank discussion with the sellers about what we expect to REALLY happen, and almost always what we expect to happen, DOES happen.
And final sold price? That’s not explicitly within our control. We advise, the seller (and buyer) decide. We’ve had plenty of occasions where we’ve been confident that we could have gotten more $$$ for our seller, but for them, being DONE was more important than the incremental profit.
Days on Market:
If a home starts out overpriced, it will usually take longer to sell. It’s not a statement about our ability as your listing agent to market your home, but a statement about pricing. For us, it was a business decision to accept that initial price and the risk of extended time on market. However, we won’t take list a home for sale that we KNOW we can’t sell. And to further complicate matters, one of our personal niches are homes that have expired on the market (didn’t sell the first, or maybe second, time with an agent). Those homes are typically a bit more challenging to sell, so days on market may be longer than for an agent who only sells “normal” homes. So can you see why comparing that number for us to someone that perhaps only sells in the hottest neighborhoods in the county doesn’t tell the full story?
How many homes have we sold?
That’s primarily a measure of opportunity than our skill. When we’re given the opportunity, we’ll get the job done for you! What we’re NOT trying to be is the #1 team in Warren County. We only take on clients that we can comfortably serve to our (and your) level of expectation.
So when you’re ready to hire your listing agent, a few suggestions:
- Look carefully at actual examples of a listing agent’s work. How they handle their current homes for sale will give you a good idea of how they’ll handle YOUR home.
- Does the agent respond quickly? Was your initial email/phone call answered quickly? Keep in mind if we’re with clients, we’re NOT answering the phone, but we will call you back as soon as we can.
- What TYPE of homes do they primarily sell? Selling a short sale is more challenging than a Pottery Barn, move in ready subdivision home. The closer (including physical location) to your home in style, price range, etc., the more meaningful the comparison.
And one last point, if TRULY the only thing that REALLY matters to you is commission rate, then just skip the rest and get straight to what is really critical to you. It may save both of us a lot of time!
Other questions about buying or selling a Warren County area home? Just ask! Call 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com.