Your home is where you’ve lived and loved, laughed and cried, and huddled and snuggled. You’ve been through a lot together.
Now that it’s time to put it on the market, you’re likely feeling some sadness and plenty of anxiety. How often does your future depend on selling your past? If you’re a little overwhelmed, it’s understandable.
But there’s also good news: You don’t have to go it alone. A listing agent has your back when you’re dealing with financials like setting a listing price, as well as marketing, staging, and making repairs. They can also help you navigate more personal issues, such as setting a selling timeline and identifying what you’re hoping to achieve with the sale.
That’s why it’s important to find an expert who’s right for you and your situation and who can help you get what you want.
Know What a Listing Agent Can Do for You
Before you start interviewing prospective agents, decide what you want to get out of the selling process. With so much money on the table, you need to define your goals so that you can find an agent who will support you in reaching them. It helps to understand what a listing agent does besides selling your most valuable asset.
The listing agent will:
- Work with you to price your home
- Market your home (we’re talking photos, social media promotion, and staging that shows off your home to its best advantage — the works)
- Negotiate with home buyers
- Usher the home sale through inspection and closing
Now, let’s break down those steps.
Pricing Your Home
The big question is, How do I set the price? The short answer is lean into your agent to recommend a well-informed and accurate listing price.
So, how can you tell if an agent — who could be a relative stranger — is choosing the best price for your home? Take these two actions:
- Know generally what your property is worth. Research the prices of local comparable properties, or comps. But understand the limits of online property sites. Run your info by your agent for an informed perspective.
- Ask the agent for pricing information on homes they’ve recently sold. Find out the differences between their listing prices and how much the homes ultimately sold for. When you’re evaluating the agent’s pricing history, look for accuracy. Nobody wants their house to languish on the market or to have to keep lowering their price.
Marketing Your Home
The listing agent will also spread the word that your house is on the market. They’ll combine longstanding marketing techniques — like direct mail, signage, and open houses — and current options like social media platforms. Savvy agents will post pics of your house on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and any other platform that can get likes plus the attention of other real estate agents who can bring buyers to the table.
Negotiating With Buyers
When offers start pouring in, your agent will negotiate with prospective buyers on not only the sale price but also what contingencies (aka special circumstances) are attached to the contract. As with any negotiation, stress can result from uncertainty and conflicting priorities between you and the other party — in this case, the buyers. You’ll want an agent who will step up for you and who has a negotiation style you’re comfortable with.
Closing the Sale
Once you’ve signed a purchase agreement with a buyer (woo-hoo!), your agent will help you navigate the remaining steps. Those include negotiating post-inspection home repair requests and dealing with last-minute surprises before closing.
The average listing agent can do all of the above. A great listing agent also inspires your confidence that they’re getting the best price for you and representing you and your home in the best possible light.
Steps to Find a Great Listing Agent
Aim to hire a listing agent six to eight weeks — or more — before the day your house is listed on the market. You’ll be grateful for the cushion, especially if the agent you ultimately hire suggests you make repairs or upgrades to your home before it’s listed. (That wouldn’t be unusual.)
Start With Your Network and Use the Internet
To find prospective agents, start with your network. Ask friends, relatives, neighbors, and colleagues for recommendations. Word-of-mouth endorsements can be priceless.
You can also turn to another friend: the internet. Property websites such as realtor.com® have directories that let you search for agents in your area. These databases can clue you into important details, such as an agent’s years of experience, number of homes sold, and past client reviews.
Eighty-one percent of home sellers contacted only one candidate before picking their listing agent, according to a seller profile report from the National Association of REALTORS®. While that may be the norm, it’s smart to shop around. Interview at least three agents before deciding on the one you want to work with.
Ask Agents These Questions
During the interviews, ask these questions to help assess whether an agent is the right fit you:
Agent Experience
- How long have you been in the business? Generally, the more experience an agent has, the more they’re tapped into the local market.
- How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood in the past year? An agent doesn’t necessarily have to specialize only in your community, though that would be ideal. You do want someone who has recently sold at least a few homes in your neighborhood and knows the local and hyperlocal inventory.
- What’s the typical price range of homes you sell? Most agents work across multiple price points, but you don’t want an agent who has never sold a home in your range.
- What’s your fee? Compensation for your agent is fully negotiable, and if your agent is a REALTOR®, they must abide by the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and have clear and transparent discussions with you about compensation. When finding an agent to work with, ask questions about compensation and discuss what you would like to offer buyers.
- How will you market my home? The agent should present a comprehensive marketing plan for your listing. This should include strategies for staging your home, taking professional photographs of your home, promoting the listing on social media, marketing to other brokers, and scheduling open houses.
- How long on average are your listings on market? What is your average sold-to-list price? This can help you suss out whether the agent is a solid marketer and negotiator. The agent can pull statistics from the local multiple listing service, or MLS.
Agent’s Work Style and Approach
- Do you work as an agent full-time? As in most professions, work experience doesn’t guarantee skill. That said, much of real estate is learned on the job.
- Will I be working with you directly or with a team? Some agents lead or work as part of a sales team. The lead listing agent shares client responsibilities with other agents. So, one agent may handle private showings for a listing, and another may host open houses. A benefit is that for the same fee, you get several people working for you. But if you want the sole attention of the listing agent, you may want to stick to a one-on-one arrangement.
- Will you provide one-on-one service? Whether you’re working with one agent or a team, ask how responsive they can be to you, your timeline, and your goals.
It’s in your best interest to pick an agent who understands your goals, fits your personality, and can sell your home for top dollar. When you meet someone who can offer all of the above, congratulations! You’ve found your listing agent.
Related Topic: Sell a Home: Step-by-Step
First Thing: Know What You’re Signing Up For
Now that you know what you’re looking for in the right listing agent, make sure you know what you’re committing to when you sign that agent’s “representation agreement.”
Exclusive Right-to-Sell Agreement
When choosing agent representation, you can sign an exclusive agency agreement, which offers one brokerage the exclusive right to sell your property. Under this agreement, you’re giving the agent’s brokerage and the agent the right to sell the home for a mutually agreed-upon time period and compensation. IOW you get peace of mind that you have a dedicated agent; the agent gets peace of mind that you’re using only their services. Other common terms include the agent’s duties to you, such as marketing and a dispute resolution plan.
Alternatively, you can opt for an open listing, which gives multiple agents the chance to sell your home. But when agents know a listing is exclusively theirs, they’re fully invested in selling the property.
Length of Contract
Every contract has an expiration date, but the contract length can vary. Some are three months; others, six months. It depends on what you and the listing agent agree on. If the contract expires before your house is sold, you can list your home with another agent.
Of course, there’s a chance you might sign an exclusive listing agreement but not be satisfied with the job your agent is doing. Make sure the representation agreement has a cancellation or termination clause that lets you void the contract before the expiration date without any financial penalty.
Understand How a Listing Agent Gets Paid
So, at the end of the day, how do listing agents get compensated for their work?
When you begin working with a listing agent, you’ll sign a listing agreement. This legal document authorizes the agent’s broker (the person who manages the brokerage and the agent) and the agent to represent you in selling your home. The listing agreement covers the real estate compensation you’ll pay. Payment can be an hourly rate, a flat fee, or a percentage of your home’s sale price. The compensation and the services provided are negotiable.
If you agree to pay a percentage, you might ask your listing broker to offer a concession, or a percentage of their broker’s fee, to the buyer’s broker. This is called a “split” and has been standard practice for years. But your listing broker needs your authorization to make this offer. If you and your listing broker decide on a split, the listing agreement much include that information.
If you forgo a split, you might later decide to offer financial incentives (or concessions) directly to the buyer. This money would be disbursed to them out of the sale proceeds to use as they please. For instance, they could use it to compensate their broker or pay for closing costs. Again, as with your listing agent’s compensation, concessions are fully negotiable and up to you.
So, if you’ve read all of the above guidelines, you’ve done your homework to find a great agent. Now you’re ready to sell that house.