Hidden Ways Listing Agents Help People Sell Their Homes And Possibly For More Money
To list with a real estate agent or to not list with an agent is often a question people ask when selling their home. You may hear conflicting stories from friends or family on whether to use an agency or not. We feel there are a few primary reasons a listing agent or real estate agency are often able to help sell residential homes quicker and possibly get more value for the sale. Read on to learn some hidden (or not so hidden) ways using a listing agent could sell your home quickly and more profitability.
The Agent’s Marketing Investments
Depending on what agent or agency you select to sell your home, marketing your property is one of the values you will receive. The agent may spend very little on marketing, or invest in more advertising, or even in custom features on websites for you. Home sellers may have used a national or international affiliated local agent or broker to purchase or sell previous homes, giving them comfort in the marketing power of these brands.
These brands, such as our parent company Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, also have a network of agents so your property has the opportunity to be seen all over the world by potential buyers and can easily be contacted through the network. This past year our marketing and PR has driven coverage on multiple properties in different price ranges from a variety of sources including Wall Street Journal and Dwell. While you may think about using a traditional local real estate agency to sell your home, you cannot beat the marketing power and geographical scale that a larger brand can bring. This reach in marketing could lead to a fast sale with multiple offers on your property, thereby increasing the sale value.
The Agent’s Client Base
You can’t sell a home without real estate clients. Many strong real estate agents will have a list of potential buyers who are looking for specific area, style or price point of homes. If your home falls in one of these categories you might be on your way to a quick sale. Homeowners can list their home for sale on multiple sites but that does not mean that the people who are looking at the property are actually qualified to purchase your home. Clients of agents will generally have a pre-qualification letter from a bank that ensures they can pay a certain amount or borrow the money. Buyer pre-qualification can give the homeowner comfort in knowing they will not miss out on a potential sale.
The Agent’s Availability
Potential homebuyers always have questions and want to view the home at different times. If selling a home without an agent or agency, unless your availability is wide open you may be missing out on the potential homebuyer. Agents will handle all the calls, texts, emails and showings providing you the time to enjoy your life. Property showing availability leads to extra potential buyers’ eyes on it. If you are working 40 hour weeks and the home is only available to show a few hours a day, you are missing out on potential buyers as well as more or higher offers to purchasing the home. Homebuyers are only so patient when it comes to purchasing and delaying viewings may increase their chances of viewing other competing properties for sale.
Knowledge Of The Market
This is probably the biggest way an agent can help a homeowner sell their home for faster and possibly more money. Knowledge is power! Knowledge of the local market will provide home sellers the insight and current market conditions to list at the right price for the area they are in. While someone might tell you “the market is crazy right now” and you should list your home for an extravagant number, such generalizations are often incorrect. This could be seen as the rush on the housing market from the initial Covid-19 pandemic started to settle in our region. Homeowners were still listing their homes at prices above what they should have been, leading them to “sit” on the market, not selling rapidly. Generally, homes that sit on the market scare potential buyers, making them question what is wrong with the home and why it hasn’t sold. Listing at a lower price aligned with the current market leads to quicker offers and the possibility of buyers with competing bids, ending with a sales number closer to peak market conditions.
We at Adirondack Premier Properties believe that these factors give homeowners the leg up needed to sell faster and possibly for more money, by using an agent. If you are in the market for an agent, read more for tips on how to vet your real estate agent when you are trying to determine who to use.