Australia’s booming property market has seen a huge increase in the number of real estate agents competing to sell your house. According to the Australian Financial Review, popular suburbs in Melbourne and Sydney have up to 300 agents jostling for business. Nationally, there are 900 suburbs with more than 100 agents listed.
As if making the decision to sell wasn’t agonising enough, finding a real estate agent to represent you is an intimidating process for most people – especially for the first time. Pick the wrong agent and the experience of selling your house can be a total nightmare.
Having a good agent on your team is the key to achieving the best financial result with minimum of stress. But great agents can be hard to find, because they are popular and normally very busy.
It pays to not rush into a contract. Instead be patient and work through a process that allows you to find each other.
Your time with an agent should be viewed as a partnership from start to finish. Here are some steps to finding someone you can trust to stay closely involved, work with you and act in your best interests.
Strategic fit
Seek recommendations
Ask around for some referrals from people you can trust - speak to friends, family and colleagues about their experiences and ask for some recommendations.
Find a good agent by speaking to their previous clients. Knock on some doors. Talk to people that have just sold in your area and ask about their experiences and outcomes – good and bad.
During preliminary discussions, a good agent will also make available some positive references from past clients. Start shortlisting prospective agents.
Local knowledge
An agent should be able to demonstrate they have a strong understanding of the local market and can think local like a prospective buyer. At the very least, they should know as much about the area and its properties as you.
This proves they have invested the time to understand local trends and demand, the types of properties available and who is looking for them in the area. Local knowledge means knowing what strategy will work best for your property and why.
A high-performing agent will be able to support this with an existing list of prospective enquiries in your local area.
A clear plan
There is nothing worse than a client left with no sense of direction by their agent. Backed by local knowledge, it shouldn’t take too long for an agent to hit the ground running and present a suitable strategy to sell your home.
This means clearly explaining your expectations and objectives upfront. A good selling strategy will include how your property will be presented, marketing channels, negotiating process, benchmarks and measurable, and communication process.
This will enable you to make decisions and confirm direction early, and start your campaign without any unnecessary delays.
Set the pace
Planning for peoples’ individual needs also means an agent should be aware of and able to manage any timing issues. This means being sensitive to the different reasons people sell their home. If you need to sell sooner than later, then the agent should be able to still perform well in a tight timeframe. If there is no rush, then the sales strategy must allow for patience and not be pushy.
In today’s competitive market, time is of the essence. A good agent can move quickly and adapt the sales strategy accordingly, to maximise your position.
Related Reading: 'Are property cycles real and what drives them.'
Personal fit
Proactive and motivated
A top agent will always make the client and their needs a priority. It can be a stressful period for some people and agents should ensure their clients are supported and happy.
This means being proactive and sure-footed during each stage of the process. Proactive and motivated agents normally demonstrate a good intuition about the market and buyers. Their ability to read different situations means they can adapt quickly to generate a new lead.
Listening and communicating
By asking lots of questions, a good agent should be doing all the listening and you should be doing all the talking. An agent’s ability to listen to you, the market and potential buyers is directly related to the overall success of your sales strategy.
The less an agent communicates, the more stressed you will be – guaranteed. Some agents have been around for a while and can tend to brush-over things that may seem insignificant to them. This starves clients of information and can make them anxious. A good agent understands this and will always keep in touch with their clients.
Financial fit
Previous results
A good agent needs to be an expert in your local area, as evidenced by a strong book of closed sales. Ask for examples of recent property sales in the area conducted by the agent.
Discuss each financial outcome and what led to the result. Talk through the different marketing approaches used, how the sale happened and key reasons the results were achieved. Shift the discussion to how much your own property is worth. The agent should provide a well-constructed answer to this question.
Do some homework
Information reporting the latest comparable sales results data in your local area is easily found online. Spend some time gathering and reviewing this information. Your own independent valuation may be useful to compare. Present your findings to the agent and ask their opinion of the results.
Included in their answer should be a good explanation of the process and factors influencing price expectations in the area.
Fee Structure
Selecting an agent based on appraisal or fees alone is dangerous. Choosing the highest appraisal or lowest commission is a common pitfall.
There are flat-rate percentage fee structures and incentive-based commission structures. Essentially both fee structures can work well with a good agent. It’s important to understand the true value of the service you are receiving, by comparing appraisals and fees as part of a total sales proposal from a shortlist of prospective agents.
In all circumstances, beware of gimmicks such as extremely low commissions and ‘no sale, no fee’ promotions.
Secret shopper
For most people, buying a new home is an emotional and adrenalin-rushed decision. It’s important the agent representing you knows how to look after buyers and get the most out of these situations.
Act like a buyer and attend some open inspections and auctions held by your shortlisted agents. Review how they presented their clients’ properties and interacted with potential buyers. How did the agent engage and nurture these buyers e.g. are they now at the auction bidding? How did the agent handle the crowd before and during the auction?
Related Reading: 'Avoid home loans that rob you of your personal time.'
Summary
The sales journey can be an anxious time. Having a well-liked real estate agent alongside you is peace-of-mind. Their experience and knowledge means they have the skills to tailor a strategy that maximises the financial result of selling your property, with minimum of stress.
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