What Does A Real Estate Agent Really Do?

In most cases, agents don't do much. To realistically answer that question, you need to really get specific about who you're referring to when you say "agent". Let's start by pointing out that the data tells us that real estate agents can be lumped into three categories.

1- The first type of agent is the 20% that hold a license, but never sell a home. They may in some cases list their sister's house because they tell their sister they will only charge them 1%. They then put the house on the market for their sister and make a complete mockery of the home and its real value. Usually, these listings expire and soon are re-listed a few times until the home lands in the hands of a ‘top producer'.

2- The second type of agent is the standard agent. These agents make up 75% of the real estate agents in our community. They sell anywhere between 2 and 3 homes a year. These are the agents you see and run into on a regular basis. They are the ones that have been saying the market is bad of the past 4 years. They are the ones that say nothing is selling. I run into these types of agents all the time. They hang out and drink the company's coffee and surf the internet all day. These are the agents that passively sit by and take "floor time", hoping to get a buyer to sell your home.

3- The third type of agent is what we call in the industry a "top producer". These agents sell anywhere between 30 and 150 homes a year. They make up the remaining 5% of the agents out there. They usually have a staff that assists them. These are the agents who are in the office early, prospecting for new business. They have a definite business plan on not only how they'll build their business, but assist you buy or sell a home with the absolute best customer service.

Now that we've defined the three types of agents, we have end up having three answers to our original question, "what does a real estate agent do?". If you've ever heard that most agents don't do anything and get paid too much money, you're right. If you're talking about agent 1 or 2 as described above that is. If you're talking about agent number 3, things dramatically change. The old adage "you get what you pay for" rings true, loud and clear! A top producing agent will end up saving you $5,000 to $75,000 on a real estate transaction.

Think about this. We now know the average agent sells between 2 and 3 homes per year. If you're working with one of these run of the mill agents, you now represent 30-50% of their income for the entire year! One has to think that your agent will not be acting from a position of authority when negotiating your deal. They'll see dollar signs for themselves and will possibly get desperate. I mean, why fight to get you a deal when they know you'd pay full price? This is the difference between a top producer and an average agent.

In conclusion, a great real estate agent will make you money, save you money, keep you out of court, get you more money for your home, keep the emotions low, assist you in make sound decisions, and effectively walk you through the process of buying or selling your home.

I'm proud to say that I'm a part of the third agent category. If you have any questions about buying or selling a home, give me a call. I'd love to help you through an amazing home buying or selling experience.