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The Number One Question You Should Ask a Potential Real Estate Agent

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Madeline Island Realty 50317-90

 

The Number One Question You Should Ask a Potential Real Estate Agent

 

Earlier this year, the Washington Post online edition included an article by Michele Lerner, entitled "How to hunt for the right real estate agent before hunting for a home".  Under the heading of "Agent Interviews" was Would you like to know what the author's first suggested question was?

 

The first item in Lerner's list of things a real estate customer should ask was "How long have you been in business?  How many transactions did you have last year?

 

Good question.

 

Actually, I'd have added "what was the total dollar value of your closed transactions last year?"  How many folks searching for an agent even bother to ask an agent about their track record?

 

Prospective buyers and sellers are buying a service, not a product.  Comparing service providers is almost always more subjective and challenging than comparing product features or reading product reviews.

 

So why do customers almost seem to be reluctant to ask an agent to prove their worth or talk about their track record?  Do consumers believe that it's rude or inappropriate to ask these questions?

 

It's perfectly acceptable to ask an agent to show statistics, such as ratio of closed sale price to list, days on market, and closed sale totals.  How else is a customer to compare and make an informed decision?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (4)

Glenn W. Small
Bayshore Group - Traverse City, MI
Full Time Realtor w/ 21 years of experience

What a great read, thanks for sharing!  I will take these tips and put them to good use.

Oct 05, 2014 01:44 AM
Raymond E. Camp
Ontario, NY

Good afternoon Eric,

I understand transactions sold but the dollar value to me would be irrelevant as to area and market conditions. Also in this area a high priced listing will be on the market longer than the average so that would throw even some of the supposed "good" agents under the bus!

Make yourself a great day.

Oct 05, 2014 03:21 AM
Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

There are a lot of things a home seller should look for in an agent, other than how many homes an agent has sold. One big one is can the seller get along with the agent and do their personalities match? If not, this could be a really difficult relationship that could last at least 60 days or more. Also, is this agent honest, someone you can trust, and will the agent do what they say they will do.

If home sellers looked at nothing but the number of transactions an agent has, the agent with the most transactions would get all the business and there would never be an opportunity for new agents entering the market to get any business. We all know that is just not the case.

Oct 05, 2014 04:28 AM
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Eric, from what I have seen in the past few years, you are at the top of my list for great agents in the Bayfield/Ashland area.

Oct 08, 2014 01:02 PM