The real estate market is starting to get hot again. With stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 winding down, real estate sales and inventory are starting to rise.
In May, the number of homes sold doubled from the month prior. In addition, the average sales price climbed by nearly $14,000.
A good real estate agent can help you sell quicker. The right agent will correctly price your home and help you receive top dollar.
Read on to learn how to interview a realtor. Explore five questions to ask a realtor so that you can make the best possible hire.
1. What Do Your Statistics Look Like?
Real estate statistics are a great way to measure success or failure. Statistics are an objective measure for sellers to consider before hiring an agent. While many agents are good talkers, data does not lie.
Specifically, you should look at how many listings the agent has. Another statistic to look for is how many closings were made each year. One impactful statistic to consider is the percentage of the listing price that the agent historically receives.
2. What Is Your Marketing Strategy?
How does your prospective agent plan to advertise your home? This is an important question as the marketing strategy is directly correlated to how fast the house sells.
There are many agents that are still old-fashioned and send out advertisements in the mail. Others are millennials and market your home using social media platforms. Either way, make sure your agent has an effective strategy for marketing your home.
3. How Will You Price My Home?
This is one of the most important questions to ask a prospective realtor. There answer will dictate whether you get top dollar for your home.
A good realtor will put together a comprehensive analysis that supports their recommended price point. This analysis will include price comparisons to similar homes. It should also assess supply vs. demand within the location and other variables like school quality.
4. Can You Provide References?
A lot of real estates agents talk a lot, but can they deliver on their promises. One way that you can verify a real estate agent’s credentials is by asking for references.
You should get contact information from past clients and give them a call. This is an effective way to make sure you hire an experienced professional.
5. How Do You Like to Communicate?
There are so many different ways to communicate in today’s day and age. Some agents are old school and like to speak face-to-face. Others are busy and predominately respond with a text message.
You should hire someone that communicates to your liking. By asking this question, you can weed out any candidates that do not communicate the way you prefer.
A Recap of How to Interview a Realtor
Hiring the right realtor is the most important step in the real estate process. This decision determines how much money you will get and how quickly the home is sold.
Conducting a thorough interview with a realtor is a great way to select the best candidate. If you enjoyed this article about how to interview a realtor, check out our blog for more related content.
