If you are thinking about putting your home on the market or have already tried multiple times and couldn’t get it sold, I want to explain why you shouldn’t rush into hiring your next agent.
Once your home is taken off the market—whether it’s withdrawn, expired, or canceled—you’ll be inundated with dozens of calls from agents within the first couple days asking to schedule an appointment with you to explain what they will do differently to get your home sold.
The reality is 95% of those agents don’t have the skillset or the experience to get the job done. In fact, a lot of new agents get their start by calling expired or withdrawn listings because they have no other source of business. It’s an easy and cheap way to fill their pipeline with clients.
As you are getting bombarded with these calls, I recommend that you talk to a few of these agents and pick a few to interview. During the interview process, there are three things you need to keep in mind.
First, the market is changing. For the last five or six years, we have seen a huge uptick in prices and been in a strong seller’s market. Agents have been able to overprice properties and still get them sold. Now, though, you need to be hyper-aware of your local market in order to price your home properly. You need to know how many homes have sold, what they sold for, what their condition is, what the current level of inventory looks like, what your competition looks like, etc. You’ll need a great agent to help you come up with the right price.
Second, your strategy has to change. You can’t just change agents and expect different results. You also need to dramatically change your home’s price or the way you market it.
Third, do your due diligence. Don’t hire someone just because they give you a good feeling on the inside. You want to work with someone you feel like you could get to know, trust, and like, but don’t just make your decision based on that. And, don’t just base your decision on how much an agent charges. There are a lot of agents out there who will “buy” a listing by offering the seller a discount on their commission. The best agents never discount their commission. They’ll be able to net you more money from your home sale because their marketing and negotiating expertise is so strong.
As part of your due diligence, ask each agent the following questions:
- Why should I hire you?
- What are you going to do to sell my property?
- What homes have you sold in my area?
- How will you market my home to expose it to all the different buyers in my area?
- How are you going to be able to justify the commission you charge?
- How will I be able to walk away with more money by working with you instead of a discount broker?
Make sure you pick the right agent to sell your home. As our market changes, your home selling strategy needs to change, and you need to hire someone with experience.
If you are thinking of putting your home back on the market, I would love the opportunity to meet with you and talk about what my team and I can do to get your home sold. Of course, if you have any other questions about our market or any other real estate needs, feel free to call or email me anytime. I’d love to help you.
