Ten Questions Every Homeowner/Future Homeowner Should Ask An Agent
Watch on your mobile device >>
As you embark upon what will be one of the most important transactions of your life – whether buying or selling a home – you should be absolutely certain that you are happy with the real estate agent you have hired to help you manage it.
To help you with this all-important hiring process, here are ten important questions to ask an agent before you decide on whether or not to hire them:
Question #1
How Close Do You Get in Sale Price Related to Asking Price?
It is important to ask for this information as it relates to the past 60 days. Given that many agents are not that active in the market, you would be best served to obtain the most recent information possible. As a seller, your agent’s ability to come close to the asking price is a strong attribute and can mean a difference of thousands of dollars in your transaction.
Question #2
How Many Days on Average Does It Take You To Sell a Home?
What’s the average number of days on the market for properties listed by your prospective agent? Since this statistic can reach as high as six to nine months and in some cases and as much as a year, it is important to ask how your prospective agent ranks on the scale.
Question #3
What is the Rate of Homes Sold on a Monthly Basis?
Knowing the absorption rate of homes similar to yours that are on the market allows valuable insight as to how the market is performing for your particular needs. Not only does it give sellers a glimpse into the system and how it would translate to their own sale but it also presents a broader view of the entire market in general.
Question #4
What Do You Do Differently To Get Homes Sold?
Especially with the current trying economic times, many agents have been faced with adversities trying to sell the homes on their list. One of the best ways to learn whether your agent is a self-starter is to find out what they have done in the past when they were unable to successfully sell homes. Ask why the agent feels the home(s) did not sell and then find out what they are doing differently to get them sold.
Question #5
What Percentage of Deals Do You Represent the Buyer Versus Seller?
Some agents work primarily with sellers while others work mostly with buyers and still others are experienced with dual-agency deals. Depending on your needs, you will benefit from an agent that specializes in one of the two. It is important to ask which side of the fence your prospective agent tends to represent.
Questions #6
How Many Homes Did You Sell Last Year?
Nothing speaks louder than numbers. A very important statistic, ask what the total number of homes sold last year was and if possible try to get a more long-term picture of the agent’s performance in this regard. You can also ask for a month-to-month breakdown to see if there are certain stronger months.
Questions #7
Can You Provide a List of the Ten Most Current Clients You Have Worked With?
Rather than rely on the given list of referrals that many agents have handpicked, it’s a good idea to obtain a list of clients that are currently working with this Realtor. It will provide a much-needed glimpse into the agent’s performance on various stages of real estate transactions.
Question #8
How Much of Your Work Day Do You Dedicate to the Real Estate Industry?
You want an agent that is 100% committed to their job and if they are focusing more on a day job with real estate being a secondary thing, you run the risk of inaccessibility, lack of knowledge and experience plus lackluster motivation. Find out how they feel about the real estate industry and whether they are passionate about their work.
Question #9
What is Your Style of Marketing – Proactive or Reactive?
What is your potential agent’s style of working? Does he or she speak to a large number of people each day? Are they proactive or reactive in nature when it comes to marketing? See how this lines up with your real estate needs. Are you in a hurry to buy or sell? Does a laid back agent hinder your efforts? Or does slow and steady work better for you?
Question #10
What Does Your Daily Schedule Look Like?
The typical schedule of a real estate professional can be very telling. By asking for a copy or general idea of how they conduct their day in terms of their work, you can get a good idea of how much time is devoted to the profession and what kind of business they are running.
Very Little Change In Sales Numbers in the Past Two Years Is Great News!
Watch on your mobile device >>
You may be thinking that sales numbers increasing sounds like great news, not the numbers staying the same, right? But the truth is that when you look at how we did in terms of home sales in 2011 versus the year prior, having similar sales numbers is great news.
Remember all that government intervention that was being hyped back in 2010 when Uncle Sam was doling out large tax credits to first time homebuyers? The desired impact was indeed captured, in that the number of home sales in our area only declined a few percent unlike the same much higher statistic from 2009. To give you an idea of the seemingly innocuous improvement, consider this: 2009 sales numbers were 15.4% lower than the previous year. Numbers in 2010 were only 3.7% lower than the preceding year but that was largely attributed to government tax incentives offered to first time homebuyers. The upward trend is exactly the kind of thing we need to see before we can even begin to think of a real estate recovery.
Sales Numbers Strong Despite Absence of Tax Incentives
Now when you look at our sales last year, you realize that things are looking up because they are very close to the year when homebuyers were receiving tax credits in the several thousand dollars for each home purchase. Considering that there were no such incentives in 2011 yet the same number of homes sold, the trend is very much a positive one.
Home Prices Remain Stable Over Past Two Years
Unprecedented, we witnessed an almost imperceptible change in home prices year over year. The average selling price in 2010 was just $11 more than the same in 2011 at $172,013 in the latter.
Does Declining Inventory Point to Stability in the Future?
Inventory continues to decline as more homes are sold and buyers take advantage of incredible buying opportunities. At a current decline of almost 16%, sellers are impacted with less competition but buyers have fewer homes to choose from at the same time.
Average Number of Days On Market Rises Slightly
Some markets have seen a greater increase on the number of days on average that homes are on the market before they sell but we were lucky to see only about an 8% increase to 113 Days On Market, looking at 2011 versus 2010. Moving into 2012, we can at least expect to see more of the same as 2011 if not an improvement.
~
Based on the trends we’re seeing over the past several years, things only seem to get better and better. We are predicting a strong market ahead in the Greenville area with plenty of sales on record, continued low interest rates and hopefully not too much of further decline in housing values.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)