11 Questions You Should Ask a Real Estate Agent
Finding the right real estate agent is one of the most important things you’ll do throughout the course of your home sale. Whether it’s through pricing your home, marketing it, or negotiating a killer deal, the real estate agent you choose will have a major impact on the final sale price of your home. Choosing a real estate agent can mean a difference of tens of thousands of dollars in your pocket.
Don’t start your home sale on the wrong foot. Get in touch with us to connect with a top agent in your area.
When tasked with making a decision of such gravity, it’s important to have a game plan for how you’ll go about making the right choice. In this post, we will provide you with 11 questions you need to ask any real estate agent you interview.
Key Qualities to Look for in your next Real Estate Agent
When selling your home, your listing agent will serve as your temporary business partner: they’ll competitively price and aggressively market your home, negotiate with buyers, and help guide you through the complex real estate transaction process. You’ll be spending a lot of time consulting with your agent over the next few months, so it’s important to work with someone you feel comfortable with.
Remember: a better listing agent can get you a better deal on your home, which means more money in your pocket. You’ll want to make sure they have a track record of success and that they’re experienced in your local market.
Ideally, you’ll want to find an agent with the following qualities:
- Experienced in your local market
- Reliable and communicative
- Friendly and easy to work with
- Successful track record
- At least three good references
Questions to Ask a Listing Agent
Once you know the criteria, you must figure out how to determine whether a potential agent fits the bill. Here are a few questions you can ask to get a better read on an agent.
1. Can you tell me about your career in residential real estate?
All agents have different career paths: some are part-time, some are full time, some have been working for 20 years, and some just got certified three weeks ago. Ideally, you’ll want to work with an agent who’s been working full time for at least a few years.
Keep in mind that a full-time agent will be more immersed in the local market than a part-time one. They spend every moment of their working life researching market trends, negotiating deals, and closing on properties. An agent who’s been working full-time for even just a few years has a tremendous amount of experience to draw upon.
2. What is your strategy for marketing the property?
Every agent will have their own unique marketing strategy: some will be more tech-savvy and invest in 3D walkthroughs and virtual tours for each listing, while others will rely on more traditional methods. Generally, you’ll want to work with an agent that makes use of both and understands the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Ask for examples of current and recent listings. Seeing their marketing strategy in action will help you get a better idea of how they’ll work on your home sale.
3. How many homes have you sold in my area this year?
Real estate markets are incredibly local. A marketing or pricing strategy that works in one suburb may be completely ineffective just two suburbs over. If you want to ensure your sale is successful, it’s essential to work with an agent who has specialised experience in your suburb.
The more homes a real estate agent has sold in your area, the more they’ll understand the nuances of the market: how are comparable properties priced? What are the sale-to-list ratios? And what are the demographics of the area?
These factors will affect how they price the property, how they market it, and how aggressive they’ll be when negotiating. In a seller’s market, for example, they’ll be able to push more on negotiations, while they’ll have to lay off more in a buyer’s market. Having hands-on experience in your market will affect their strategy in a big way.
4. How will we communicate?
As you navigate the home selling process, you’re bound to have quite a few questions that you’ll want to ask your agent. For most sellers, finding an agent who’s responsive and easy to talk to is a priority. Every real estate agent has their own preferred communication method, so you’ll have to decide for yourself whether you’d rather work with someone who prefers phone calls, texts, or emails.
When gauging how quick your agent will be to respond, be sure to ask how many clients they currently have. Agents with many clients will generally take longer to respond, while those with only a few other clients will typically be able to answer your phone calls, texts, and emails much more quickly. Make sure you ask what the agent’s average response time is when interviewing them.
5. Will you provide me three references?
Anytime you’re hiring someone, it’s important to get references before signing a contract. Deciding on a real estate agent is no different: always make sure the real estate agent you’re considering can provide at least three references from past clients.
These can tell you two things:
- Whether the agent’s past clients were happy with their experiences
- Whether they’ve had past clients with similar needs
If you’re looking for a particular type of property or are in a unique situation, ask your real estate agent for references from clients that sold under similar circumstances. This will give you a good idea as to how they’ll work with you.
Online reviews provide a higher number of experiences than you can get from references, but usually don’t go as deep into them. It’s a good idea to use reviews as a preliminary screening method and then use references as a deciding factor. You can go more in-depth and ask specific questions when contacting a reference.
6. How familiar are you with my price range?
All real estate agents have their specialties: some focus on multi-million dollar mansions, while others focus on more moderately priced homes. Always ask a potential real estate agent whether they have experience in your particular price range. Working with an agent who’s only sold in Double Bay doesn’t make much sense if you’re selling a home that’s worth $1,800,000 in Ashfield, for example.
7. How will you determine the listing price?
Ideally, a real estate agent should perform a comparative market analysis (CMA). This means that they’ll compare your home to other open, pending, and recently closed listings to arrive at a price that’s placed competitively within the local market.
When interviewing a real estate agent, inquire about their list-price-to-sale ratio, or sale-to-list ratio. The sale-to-list ratio is calculated by dividing the closing price of the home by its original listing price and multiplying that figure by 100 to express it as a percentage.
If their sale-to-list ratio is over 100%, the real estate agent consistently sells homes for above the list price. If it’s under 100%, the opposite is true. Try to find a real estate agent with a ratio over 100%.
8. How long can I expect my house to be on the market?
Ask the real estate agent how long their homes typically stay on the market for and how quickly they usually get offers. In the US, homes stay on the market for an average of 68 days, so you’ll want to find someone who stays within range of or beats this figure.
Be sure to ask whether it’s common for their sales to fall through during closing. If so, this could mean that they are overly aggressive during the negotiation process.
9. What other professionals can you recommend for my home selling experience?
A good real estate agent should be well-connected in the industry. Ask potential candidates whether they know mortgage brokers, contractors, appraisers, and building & pest inspectors who can help your sale go smoothly. If they don’t have a decent network, that’s a red flag, and you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up encountering some roadblocks and slowdowns along the way.
10. What questions do you have for me about the property?
Marketing is a large part of an agent’s job description, and like any good marketer, they should be interested in learning as much as they can about your home. Any decent real estate agent should ask whether there are any hidden features, past issues, or other points of interest that may affect your home sale.
If they don’t ask any questions, that’s not a good sign: no matter how experienced they are, no real estate agent can know a home’s full story on first sight. The lack of curiosity and initiative doesn’t bode well for their ability to come up with a great angle for your home.
11. What will it cost to list my home?
Home sellers typically pay 6% in total commissions which are split evenly between the buyer’s and seller’s agent. If the real estate agent you’re interviewing says they’ll charge more than 3%, you’re not getting a good deal. Commission fees are almost always negotiable, so it’s worth asking whether it’s possible to work out a lower fee.
If you want to work with a top-rated, local, full-service agent without paying hefty commission fees, Minty may be right for you. Minty Partner Agents will sell your home for a pre-negotiated listing fee of just 1.5% — saving you up to 50% in typical selling costs.
Learn more about how Minty can help you sell your home for top dollar and save thousands.
Prep Tips for Interviewing a Real Estate Agent
Before interviewing a real estate agent, keep these tips in mind:
- Decide how many real estate agents you want to interview: Don’t waste your time interviewing dozens of agents. Pick a few you’re interested in and focus on them.
- Do some preliminary research into local market trends: Inform yourself on the median home values in your area, market direction, and the typical sales price.
- Do some research online: Google all real estate agents before moving forward with an interview. Read their reviews and see if there are any red flags.
How to Find a Great Listing Agent
The benefits of finding a great agent are clear: they’ll price your home competitively, market it aggressively, and negotiate a great deal for you.
Selling your home with a real estate agent will almost always net you a much larger profit than if you sold on your own.
Finding a great agent can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Ask your friends, family, and next door neighbours for recommendations, do a bit of Googling, and contact the agents for local listings you like. You’re sure to find someone who fits the bill.
To make things easier, Minty connects sellers with top-rated local agents. Get in touch with us to learn more about how our Partner Agents can make your sale a success.
