It's a Seller's Market, Why Should I Use a Real Estate Agent?

Many people do not understand what a good Realtor® does for you when selling a home whether that be in Frisco Texas, San Jose California or Tampa Florida. When you think about it what is so hard about selling a home in a seller's market? I mean really all a Realtor does it get you into the MLS and then it pretty much sells itself. And for this you want a 6% fee and sometimes even more? I think I should go into Real Estate. These words are not uncommon to hear from consumers, although you will not hear them from my clients. 

Financially Beneficial

The number one reason people chose to not sell a home with a real estate agent was to avoid the fee or commission. 46% of people who were selling a home by themselves (FSBO) did so to avoid the fee or commission. In fact only 9% of home sales were sold by people without the assistance of a real estate agent. When looking back at FSBO sales versus agent assisted sales the NAR found that the average sale price for FSBO was $184,000 compare to $230,000 for an agent assisted sale. In addition, almost 1/3 of the FSBO sellers did nothing to market their homes and more than 2/3rds of them did nothing to attract or provide an incentive for buyers. 

The bottom line is that in most cases, selling your home with a real estate agent will allow you to net more profit than if you sold it yourself. This is considering that you will sell your home faster and at a higher price than you will on your own. When you start considering the additional softer costs, such as reduced risk, time spent working on the process, and the harder costs of your own personal advertising and marekting, then the business case to utilize a Realtor gets even stronger. 

What does a Realtor do?

A Realtor will help you with the three Ps of selling a home: Preparation, Pricing and Presenting. Without these three Ps, you may end up with many other FSBOs who had a different three Ps: piss poor performance.

Preparation

A good Realtor will guide you on how to properly prepare your home for sale. You will be provided information and recommendations on changes you may want to consider with regards to staging, curb appeal, de-cluttering, repairs, etc... These are the things that can easily make the difference from someone getting out of there car to look at your property or simply driving on ahead to the next home for sale. 

Pricing

Please realize that a Realtor wants to get you top dollar. The more you sell the home for the more money a Realtor makes. However, over pricing a home does  no one any good at all. Be aware of the Realtor who promises to sell your home at any price. The market and your preparation will determine the price you will most likely sell your home. Understanding the current market conditions, knowing the local inventory (your competitors,) and being aware of how much homes are appraising for in the current area will be of more value to you properly pricing your home than anything else. We do this for a living and track this information daily, do you?

Presentation

Are you ready and comfortable to let strangers enter your house? Are you sure you want that next person who answers your Craigslist advertisement in your home? Presenting your home is part of selling your home. If you can't show it you can't sell it. How much do you know about qualifying buyers? Are they pre-approved or pre-qualified? What is the difference? How do I protect my belongings while I have people traipsing through my home? These are all questions a Realtor knows how to address and many more.

Marketing

Yes the MLS is one area to market a home but there are many others. A good Realtor is going to arrange to have your home photographed at no expense to you. They will create website(s) or at least pages for websites where your home will be advertised not only locally but nationally and internationally. They have access to agent networks inside their offices as well as through their own  personal networks. Many of them understand how to utilize social media and other areas to attract buyers to your home. There is a cost to this infrastructure which as a seller you do not pay. In fact you do not pay for anything unless your home sells. 

Documentation

In today's world, real estate is no stranger to litigation. When selling your own home you are not excused from knowing all the legal forms and processes that must be followed. How would you like it if three years after you sold your home the buyer came back and sued you for something you inadvertently left off your seller's disclosure (if you don't know what that is then you certainly want a Realtor to help you.)  

Coordination and Scheduling

Understanding the home buying and selling process is very important to protect you financially and legally. Scheduling appropriate meetings and calls to keep the entire process moving forward is another area where a Realtor should excel. Coordinating the many different parties involved including other agents, principals, brokers, inspectors, tradesman, title, lenders, and the list goes on and on is a daunting task. Are you ready to take on that responsibility perhaps multiple times if for any reason the first offer does not pan out?

Real Estate is Easy

Do you still think real estate is easy? Sure in a seller's market it may appear that this is an easy business, but maybe it seems easy because you saw a Realtor simply made it look effortless. Yes there are those of us who can ensure you have a great experience and make it lok easy. Yes there are a lot of moving parts and yes each one of these offers different risks and rewards.  Without the real estate agent you get to do all these things on your own. Are you ready to tackle this challenge? For more on selling your home you may want to look at the another post.

However, before you think of taking this challenge on yourself, remember what we are trying to answer: Why should I use a real estate agent in a seller's market?  Remember what you are trying to achieve: you want to sell your home for the most profit in the least amount of time with minimal risk. I think you just answered the question. 

My client's get to see this firsthand. They work with me because the know when you are one of my client's: Your Success is My Focus

 

By Jeff Fritzson