When the real estate market is hot, like it is now, and like it has been for the last several years, there are a lot of people that jump into the real estate business and become real estate agents. It can be difficult for the average consumer to know how to choose the right real estate agent for their needs. Well, I had a buyer call me the other day. He was very unhappy with his current real estate agent. He said him and his wife had been looking for a home for a while. And the agent just wasn't looking out for their best interests.
One of the main things he had was he kept putting bids on houses and kept losing them. Well, had to explain to him, well, that's just the reality of the market right now. It doesn't mean that you had a bad real estate agent, but I questioned him further and asked him how he chose his real estate agent. The first thing he said was, "Well, they kept coming up on Zillow." I had to explain to him, and you should know this too. That's not a good way to pick your real estate agent. And I'm not saying that his real estate agent was doing a bad job. I'm just saying, that's not the way to pick your real estate agent.
Zillow makes the bulk of their revenue by selling leads to real estate agents and mortgage people. Agents go on there and they can pay per zip code to get leads in those zip codes. And they're charged by what the house prices or the range of value is in those zip codes. Zillow makes a ton of money because they do this in every zip code across the country. So just because that agent is coming up on Zillow, it doesn't mean that they're more competent, more capable, more experienced, or anything. It just means that they're spending their money on Zillow.
If you're going to choose a real estate agent, make sure that you interview them and ask them, so you're confident that they can get the job done, whether you're buying or selling a house. They should have references. Maybe they have been recommended to you by a friend of yours or a family member. That's even better. But even still, you need to make sure that they're competent and capable of doing things. And if they've been in the business a long time, that doesn't mean anything either. They might have been in the business 25 years and only sell one or two houses a year. That's not experience. That's just longevity. You should always try to pick a real estate agent that you like, know, and you definitely need to trust them. Don't pick them because they come up on websites like Zillow. Trust me. They're just paying to be there. My name's Mike Jones, Jacksonville's voice of real estate. Thank you for watching.
Mike & Cindy Jones, Jacksonville Real Estate Agents
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
Florida Network Realty
3627 St Johns Ave
Jacksonville Fl 32205
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