Crouch Team
Phone
(540) 725-7727
Email
[email protected]
In today's market it's more important than ever before to choose the right agent. We are in the midst of shifting market conditions going from one none of us had ever seen to one many have never seen. With the statistics I'm about to share from the National Association of Realtors, you'll see even with the unprecedented conditions over the last few years, sadly many agents still didn't gain the experience necessary.
As of June 30th of this year there were 1.6 million Realtors. 1.3 million had sold three homes or less in the entire first six months of this year. That means only 8% of the Realtor population has sold more than four houses in the first half of the year. I don't know about you but I find that astounding. Especially with what we see on social media. Being a Realtor has become all the new rage it seems and you've got all walks of life posting on all the various platforms claiming to be top agents, luxury specialists, neighborhood specialists, they claim they're listing properties that aren't even their listings. They're borrowing those from agents in their office and advertising them as their own in hopes to pick up business for themselves. I've discovered the average consumer unfortunately hasn't been well educated about how our industry actually works.
Now that the market is settling down, there will be agents desperate to get listings and business. It won't be falling out of the sky like it has in recent years. All kinds of things will occur for instance over pricing, gimmicks, promises that open houses and Realtor luncheons will sell the home. Did you know that statistics show less than 1% of homes sell as a direct result of an open house? And, Realtor luncheons? Hmm... let's offer a free lunch, gimmicks, and wear and tear on your home that's now ready for the market to have a bunch of Realtors come through? Do you think Realtors are the ones that choose the home or the buyer? Yep! The buyer! And guess who primarily comes to Realtor luncheon's? Agents that don't have anything better to do! Because where do you think busy agents who are actually selling homes are at? Right, selling homes! And if a buyer is looking for a home like yours in your area and in your price range, why wouldn't an agent show it? And why wouldn't a buyer look at it? Exactly, so open houses and Realtor luncheon's are pointless however make you as a seller feel like your agent is doing something to get the home sold.
Rather than coming prepared with market statistics they'll tell you any price you want and list it over market value just to take the listing.
It takes courage, experience and expertise to do otherwise would you agree? Why would they do that you say? Well, by taking your listing they can pick up another couple deals whether they sell your home or not! So they stand to make lots of money off having your home for sale whether they get you the results you want or not. Here's a few questions to ask the agent before you agree to list your home with them committing to a multi-month contract for thousands of dollars in most cases:
How many years have you been in the business?
Do you primarily work with buyers or sellers?
How many listings have you sold this year? Keep in mind, any agent can show homes to a buyer, but not just any agent can properly price, market, advertise, negotiate, and represent a seller. These are two very different roles. You’ll want to make sure the agent you choose actually has experience with listing homes and not just showing homes to buyers.
What will you do to sell my home?
What’s your sold volume on listings sold this year?
What's your customer service plan for me?
There is so much more to this business than you can imagine. I'm not posting this to negate other agents specifically or really what they do. I'm posting this to educate the public a little more in depth on our industry. I'll share other topics in the coming weeks as well.
Next up, this idea of listing with an agent simply because they're IN my area. Follow to learn why this makes NO SENSE. Before you go check out what our past clients had to say about their experience with our team and let us know if we can be of support to you.