Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agents and Real Estate Salespeople are out there in the coalface everyday looking at real estate. They should know the market better than anyone else.

The real estate industry is huge and thus has massive economies of scale when it comes to advertising and promotion. Thus it is unlikely you will get a cheaper, or more effective deal when trying to sell your property.

It caters for the lazy-mans attitude in all of us as well. You simply list you property with them, and they take care of all the work from promotion, inspections, negotiation and contracts.

Remember that the Real Estate agent is contracted to the seller. They have a legal obligation to act in the seller's best interest. They cannot offer impartial advice to a potential buyer if they are contracted to the seller of that same property.

This is something that many buyers forget when dealing with a real estate agent - please remember that whatever you tell your real estate agent could be used against you in latter negotiation.

Real Estate agents will know of all the homes for sale in an area, and should be able to match up your requirements with homes available in an efficient manner.

However, once you find a suitable house, make your own enquiries as to its sales history, good and bad points, and true market value.  There is more discussion about how to work out market values here.

Alternatively, you can hire the services of a Registered Property Valuer who will act in your interests to ascertain the property's market value and any other issues you may want to know.  You will find more information on a property valuers role here

You won't have to look far to find an agent! Real Estate offices and agents are everywhere. Look out for signs in your area, advertisements in local papers, local Real Estate offices, and the flyers advertising their services that regularly end up in your mailbox.

Agents will normally specialise in a certain area. Often this is the area  where they have their own family home. They should thus have a good knowledge of all recent sales in your area, and be able to accurately predict what your home will sell for.

It doesn't hurt to ask for some references. See if you can ring a couple of their past clients. Were they always efficient, honest, straightforward, and most importantly, did they get the house sold in a reasonable time frame and for the amount that they said they would at the start of the process.

Costs can vary depending on your location, and the value of your property. However, it appears that the typical range is from 2% to 4% of the sale price, plus GST.

In addition, the agent may ask you to pay extra for advertising, although this is often highly negotiable depending on market conditions, and how marketable the agent feels your property is.