Real sellers need real agents, with real heart. Don’t look at the stats that say “number 1 this, number 1 that”, instead ask these questions!

The first thing you want to establish when you’re hiring an agent to sell your home is:

• That they know what they are doing
• That they are going to spend time and money advertising your home
• That they are good negotiators
• That they are going to listen to you
• And, that they have time for you

realtors are a dime a dozen, but a good one is 1/100

The real estate board has some pretty dramatic statistics to take into account. The spread of business is very stark, from most agents selling less than 6 homes a year, to a select few selling more than 50 a year. You don’t need a top .05% Realtor to sell your home, but I wouldn’t trust my home to an average or below average Realtor. The perfect agent has time for you. Yet, they are also busy enough to know what they are doing.

• The average realtor sells less than 6 homes a year
• 20% don’t make a sale
• 25% sell between 7-24 homes
• 2.5% sell between 25-50 homes
• .05% sell more than 50 homes a year

(stats from Toronto for year-over-year November 2016. Excludes listings sold by pre-construction agents)

Finding a real estate agent to sell your home

This is where I say, judge a book by its cover. A Realtor that doesn’t promote themselves online well, won’t advertise your home online well either. The same goes for a Realtor that doesn’t have up-to-date images of themselves, or a fresh website. 94%+ buyers start their home search online, so if your agent has a weak online presence, they aren’t taking advantage of their market. They also won’t take advantage of the internet to sell your home. Below are a few additional questions to ask a realtor:

The top questions to ask when hiring a listing agent

How long have you been in Real Estate?

How many homes do you sell a year? How many have you sold this year?

Do you work on a team? are you going to be my point of contact throughout the whole sale?

Tell me about your marketing plan? Do you advertise my home nationally and internationally?

What’s your online marketing strategy?

What real estate boards will you list my home on?

Will you have a professional stager come in and give their opinion on staging?

Do you offer professional photography, videography, floor plans, and professionally designed and printed brochures?

How will you remain accountable throughout the sale? How often will you give me feedback from the viewers that saw my home?

(Have you noticed I did not mention statistics? List to sale ratio? and average days on the market? That’s because we believe every sale is unique, and you can’t judge a Realtor based on the metrics of their track record. I’ll tell you why: We sell in more than one neighbourhood, and in a few price ranges. We’ve taken on the most expensive homes in neighbourhoods, as well as homes that back onto railway lines. Both of which take longer to sell, and sell under asking price. So our sales metrics are constantly being impacted by the spread of our business. Instead, ask for references or client success stories.)

in conclusion

A good listing agent is someone that has a proven marketing plan, as well as the time to dedicate to marketing your home. Some agents work as lead agents on a larger team, and while this might seem impressive to sellers, it can lead to a very frustrating sales experience. We chose to keep our team small, and to allocate tasks to those who are most apt to do them well. We believe that with every degree of separation from Seller to Agent to Agent’s assistant, quality takes a hit. Which is why we recommend hiring a small team, or an individual, that knows what they are doing, yet has time to dedicate to marketing your home and keeping you in the loop.