The Top 10 qualities to look for in a Real Estate Agent

We had a chat to some industry experts to find out what you should be looking for when scouting around for the perfect agent.

1. Communication

As a house seller, it can be stressful dealing with an agent who’s not keeping in touch with you, communicating with you or giving you feedback.  You need an agent who will let you    know quickly where you stand with your current selling situation.
It’s so important that agents stay in constant contact with their customers. What seems like insignificant information to an agent who’s been in the business for years can be important to clients, especially to clients that have never sold a home before.

2. Honesty

Sellers need an honest agent, one that will tell them like it is, even if they’re not the easiest to hear. This type of person will lay out exactly what the seller can expect, from sale price to timing and more. In the end, honesty will save sellers lots of worry.

3. They’re proactive

A good agent should be proactively calling potential buyers, communicating with existing customers and constantly chasing new leads. The key element of being proactive is keeping the client well informed.

4. They’re client motivated

  If the customer gets a good a deal, the agent gets a good deal, which is why it’s so important to choose an agent who puts their vendors first.

  Selling houses can be stressful and it’s important for the agent to make sure that the client is feeling supported and happy.

5. They listen

 Most good agents will tell you to be wary of an agent who talks too much.

As a client, you’re the one who should be doing most of the talking and making sure that your agent understands your special requests and needs. A good agent should be asking all the questions not the other way around.

6. Meeting clients’ needs

  It’s important that an agent can meet their client needs.

  Some clients like to communicate via email, some prefer a quick text message and others like to receive a phone call so they can have a chat about what’s happening with their sale.

  It’s the responsibility of a good agent to suss out the clients preferred method of communication so they don’t feel either ignored by silence or pressured by too much communication.

7. They know their clients' time frame

 You need to know if the client is in a hurry to sell. If they need to settle soon, the agent should know this and should be working to a tighter time frame. If the client isn’t in a rush the agent can shop around and advise the client to wait for a better market so they can get a decent price on their house.

8. They know their customers' selling motivation

  A good agent always knows why their clients are selling and will ask themselves the following questions:

• Is your customer selling to buy?
• Is this an investment property?

These are all things that good agents need to think about. It also helps to know if there’s a sentimental attachment to a home. A client who’s selling one of five investment properties will have very different needs to a client who’s selling their family home. A good agent will know the difference and will adapt accordingly.

  9. They aren’t afraid to give you their clients as references

 The best way to get a good agent is use their past clients as references.

 If you’ve lined up a new agent and you want to make sure that they’re the best fit for you, ask them for testimonials or statements from their last clients. A good agent should be able to give you a positive reference from any of their past clients.

10. Willing to discuss their fees and marketing costs

A good Agent should be able to justify their Fees an Marketing costs. Whilst you don't neccesarily want to always go with the cheapest, you want an Agent who is willing to back themselves and the fees they are commanding to get you the best price possible.