As the title suggests, this month I’m going to dive into why hiring a real estate agent is not only a good thing, but necessary for anyone entering the real estate market. Stating the obvious, I want to disclose that I’m a real estate broker with a clear stake in this matter.
With that being said, I’d like to iterate that my thoughts and my eagerness to share them with you are not exclusively rooted in job security and self-preservation. I believe in what I do. I believe I’m good at what I do, and I believe that what I do for my clients is essential and necessary.
Moreover, I can say confidently that my clients walk away with more money even after paying me than they would if they tried to sell their homes on their own.
There are many jobs and tasks where the cheaper DIYS option is viable and savvy. Real estate is not one of those jobs. YouTube is an effective medium for teaching you how to replace your faucet or change the oil in your car, saving you the cost of hiring a plumber or a mechanic to handle these simple chores.
YouTube or the internet at large cannot adequately teach or prepare you for the task of selling your house, however. Agents undergo many hours of training and a rigorous testing process to obtain their license. Brokers have even more training and testing – far more than what some influencer can show you in an online video.
Before I discuss the benefits and reasons for hiring an agent for listing and selling your house, I’d like to take a quick detour to discuss why you should hire an agent when you’re looking to buy a home.
Hiring an agent to help you find a home is an easy sell for clients because, essentially, the agent is working for you FOR FREE.
Let me explain. Agents and brokers get paid on a commission basis, but the commission comes from the seller’s side. For illustration purposes: a client hires an agent to sell their house. The agent and client agree on a commission percentage when listing, and the seller agent offers a percentage of their commission to any agent who brings in a buyer for the property.
Put simply: the home seller pays out the commission to be split by the agents. As a buyer, the cost is already built into the sale of your home. Having an agent help you find a home is free representation.
A buyer agent has many roles, including advising their buyers, writing up offers and ensuring a smooth home sale process. An experienced agent knows the process from accepted offer to closing day well, and a diligent agent makes sure every step from inspection period to appraisal to clear to close has been met.
I won’t belabor the point of having an agent on the buying side of real estate transactions because it’s hard to argue against free representation.
Let me return to why you should have an agent list and sell your house. Before I dive into the statistics that prove my point, let’s go over the most important services that a real estate agent provides.
First, active agents have a good pulse on the housing market. How do you know what price to list at? Are you going off the arbitrary number posted on Zillow? Are you looking at the home for sale two streets down?
Agents not only run numbers based on square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, but also consider the intangible aesthetics associated with your house. Being actively involved in multiple sales month after month, I can zone in on a proper valuation on your house and a listing price that will drive up traffic and ensure a fast sale with maximum equity on your home sale.
Second, an experienced agent can walk through your home and give you tailored advice on small improvements that can help maximize your home’s value and increase your profit on its sale.
Active agents are cognizant of local trends and details that appeal to potential home buyers. Often small additions or improvements can increase the sale price on your home by tens of thousands of dollars.
The third and most important service an experienced agent provides to those looking to sell their house is closing the deal. In talking about having an agent on the buyer’s side I mentioned briefly an agent’s role in facilitating the deal.
On the seller’s side, a diligent agent is invaluable in facilitating a deal. For starters, your agent will help you break down multiple offers on your house to ensure you’re accepting the best deal.
Especially in today’s market, where a seller can expect multiple offers on their house, an agent can provide great insight into what constitutes a great offer.
Top dollar isn’t always the best choice for a client. Grossly high offers come with the risk of a low appraisal that could jeopardize and even compromise a deal.
There are many factors and components to an offer, and the value of having an experienced agent well-rehearsed in reading real estate offers can’t be understated.
Once an offer is accepted, just as the buyer’s agent is looking out for their client, your agent is there to help you navigate all the small and big details leading up to closing day. I don’t mean to generalize here, but there are so many small hiccups that come up in every real estate transaction – far too many to enumerate here.
But that’s why you hire an agent! We smooth out these bumps and prevent small hiccups from becoming major hurdles, ensuring your home sale closes as quickly and as stress-free as possible.
To drive my point home (real estate pun intended) I’ll share with you the following study from the National Association of REALTORS, which showed the median home sale for homes sold by owners was $120,000 less than homes sold by a licensed agent.
That’s far and above an agent’s commission on most home sales and proof positive of the benefits a real estate agent can provide to their client.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what I and Goldfinch Realty can offer you, feel free to contact me today!
