Agents

+ Client Perspective - What Real Estate Agents Do?

One of the most important things real estate agents are expected to do is keep track of the various homes and other properties for sale in their area. This means paying attention daily to listings, closings, new construction, and planned communities. It’s not enough to know what’s being built or what’s for sale, however. Real estate agents also keep an eye on local businesses and the community as a whole. What’s moving in? Who’s closing or moving out? What’s planned for the next 3 – 5 years in terms of roads, malls, airports, industries, restaurants, or other local features?

Real estate agents often work non-traditional hours, showing homes on evenings and weekends and making special trips to handle last-minute paperwork issues whenever they arise. Most try to respond to calls, texts, and emails promptly, even on holidays. Even if they can’t solve the problem or answer the question right away, it makes clients feel better – and that’s a huge part of the gig. The ability to juggle their personal and professional lives may not be the sort of thing you worry about when choosing a realtor, but they’re definite factors in which real estate agents survive and thrive over the years and which burn out or fade away.

Another underappreciated skill set is the ability of real estate agents to network and promote themselves without coming across as people who constantly network and promote themselves. Word of mouth and personal relationships are such a major part of success in buying and selling real estate, but no one wants to feel like you’re only talking to them or showing interest in their lives because you’re hoping they need a real estate listing agent! Real estate agents in the 21st century learn to make the most out of traditional forms of advertising (signs, flyers, and ads, for example) as well as the ever-changing worlds social media. Maybe a few reach the point they can simply wait for the phone to ring, but most put in hours and hours behind the scenes to make it happen.

Finally, the most successful real estate agents learn to be amateur experts in almost anything related to home buying, selling, building, renovation, repair, or design. They’re not plumbers or electricians, but they learn enough about both to understand when professionals explain a problem or describe a situation. They become pretty good at estimating the cost of everything from touching up some paint to remodeling a bathroom (although if they’re trying to close a deal, they may naturally underestimate the cost of any future work required). They can give advice on proper staging for when your home is opened to potential buyers and the most effective lighting and photography for all those pictures that they’ll be posting online.

Experienced real estate agents avoid taking on the role of decision-maker or final authority for anything outside their job description while at the same time keeping a ready list of movers, contractors, painters, carpet stores, photographers, and anything or anyone else clients might need. They offer guidance, but not a release from responsibility. And, sometimes more than anything else, they offer reassurance and personal attention during what can often prove to be a very stressful period in clients’ lives.

+ Realtor Perspective -What does it mean to be a realtor?

Being a realtor means paying attention to people and learning to listen not only to what they say, but to the important things they don’t. What does the client really want? Is the issue the number of bedrooms or is it really about how something makes them feel? What’s going on with their body language or tone of voice? What’s being asked between the lines of their questions? Successful real estate agents learn to navigate people as much as paperwork – not to manipulate anyone, but to better understand and meet the wants and needs of their clients. They walk a blurry line between being friendly and supportive and maintaining professional detachment.

Being a realtor also sometimes carries the responsibility of telling clients things they don’t want to hear. Successful real estate agents don’t make decisions on behalf of their clients, but they may find it necessary to clarify realities their client are avoiding. That low-ball offer they want to make could damage their chances of getting an in-demand property at any price. The condition of the home they want to sell is going to turn off buyers, no matter how many home renovation shows talk about “looking at the potential.” Financing and other paperwork is going to take time no matter how quickly they have to be out of their old place. Sometimes being a realty agent means being a reality agent as well.

Being a realtor also means accepting things beyond your control. In a perfect world, maybe appearance wouldn’t matter. In reality, however, successful real estate agents know that homes and properties are only part of what they sell. Before they can sell someone a house, they have to sell themselves to that person as someone trustworthy, capable, dedicated, and yes… likable. Professional dress that’s not too stuffy, hair and makeup (if applicable) that come across as stylish (but not too stylish), and smiling enough that they seem eternally positive but not so much that it’s creepy.

More people find their real estate agents through personal realtor referral than through simply trying “find a realtor near me” on their favorite search engine, so the ability to connect with clients isn’t just about this sale – it’s about the next one, and the next, and the one after that…

SWM Looking For A Realtor With Good Sense of Humor Who Likes Long Walks On the Beach…

In any profession, the substance of what you’re doing matters. Your knowledge and talent and ability to get the job done matters. But as anyone in sales or customer service knows, if people can’t get past your look or personality or some other distracting feature, your commitment and ability may not matter. That’s not always fair and it’s certainly not “right,” but it’s a definite factor in the success of some real estate agents over others.

Study after study suggests that female real estate agents tend to close deals for slightly higher prices than their male counterparts, whether acting as a buyers realtor or a sellers agent. When female real estate agents are perceived as attractive, the average sale price bumps up yet again (although this is often accompanied by the property staying on the market for a little longer). Thin female real estate agents do better than their overweight counterparts on average, and white agents of either sex tend to sell for slightly higher prices than agents of color.

Client biases are rarely overt and are nearly impossible to pin down in any one isolated transaction. When accounting for the many other factors associated with buying or selling a home, however, these biases are statistically significant. None of this means, of course, that there aren’t very successful real estate agents of all colors, genders, shapes, and sizes. It does mean, however, that some face a slightly steeper hill than others.

Of course, similar biases pop up in many other professions as well. We may not have easy solutions, but any progress must begin by being honest about the problem, right? Just in case anyone needs reminding, however, your real estate agent search should be about finding the most capable, professional, qualified person to help you in your search for homes or buyers for your property. If you find your own biases getting in the way, check yourself. You may be cheating yourself out of more than a sweet deal.

+ Real Estate Agent Basics - Prices

In the end, the number one thing most of us need when choosing a realtor is someone who knows the market and can help us buy or sell our property. Any good real estate agent, once they have a general idea of what you’re wanting, will provide a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for the property in question. CMA estimates have become much more sophisticated in recent years thanks to more effective design and use of technology for real estate agents. They offer buyers or sellers a useful starting estimate of the value of whatever home or other property they’re considering.

A CMA estimates a home’s value by analyzing properties of similar size and comparable features which have sold or been on the market in the area during the previous six months (or sometimes longer). By comparing the home in question with others which have sold, then adjusting for differences in size, features, condition, etc., your agent can suggest an appropriate starting place for your asking prices or initial offer.

If you’re looking for a real estate agent, consider asking them how closely their CMAs match the final selling price of a home most of the time. Honest real estate agents will give you a reasonably tight range (a good CMA will be within 10% - 20% of the final price 90% of the time), then clarify that they’re just estimates – not guarantees. If the agent isn’t upfront about this without you having to ask again, find a different agent.

If I’m looking for the top selling real estate agents near me, I want to know more than just how accurate their estimates are. I’d like to know how closely their average selling prices match their CMAs, and how long their homes typically stay on the market. Any decent real estate listing agent wants to make as much for their clients as possible – the more the client makes, the more the agent makes as well. But the profession is also driven by volume and turnaround times, meaning there’s substantial motivation for even the best real estate agents to encourage you to accept any reasonable offer so they can collect their commission and move on. It’s not that most are dishonest; it’s that most are human just like the rest of us, so...

Once a price is negotiated, the financing process begins. Lenders want more than CMA estimates. No lender wants to risk loaning more than a property is actually worth. That’s when a certified appraiser is brought in. Appraisers begin with the same information in a good CMA, but they don’t stop there. They walk through the property carefully, inside and out, making detailed notes of every improvement, amenity, sign of wear and tear, potential repair, etc. Your realtor has to get along with you in order to stay in business – not so the appraiser. Their only concern is the most precise measure of actual value possible. And they’re very good at it.