4 Reasons to Hire a Listing Agent
A listing agent is often referred to as the seller’s agent, representing a home seller, while the potential buyer may have a buyer’s agent represent, which protects their interests. The primary task of a listing agent is to expose your home to the greatest number of potential buyers – they’re first and foremost a marketing person and don’t necessarily sell your house directly, but they should be the reason your home sells, and ideally in a short period of time.
Whether you’re putting your home on the market among houses for sale in Phoenix or anywhere else in the country, it’s always a good idea to hire a listing agent.
Pricing Your Home
There are multiple ways to estimate the value of your home online, such as Redfin’s What is My Home Worth lender sites like Chase’s Home Value Estimator. While that’s a great place to start, you really need a listing agent to fine tune it from there. If it’s listed at a price that’s too high, it’s unlikely to sell, languishing on the market for months or even years. When that happens, potential buyers may avoid it with the impression something is wrong. On the other hand, if it’s priced too low, you could be end up on the losing end of the deal. Properly pricing your home by analyzing sales prices of comparable homes in your neighborhood, is an important part, if not the most important part of the listing agent’s job.
While you may know that the home down the street was priced at $400,000, an agent will know the entire story behind it and what happened throughout the sale’s process – maybe there were upgrades done and fell out of escrow once or twice before finally selling at $75,000 less than the original asking price and after over 100 days on the market.
Creating a Marketing Plan
A strategic marketing plan is a must for selling a home quickly and at the best possible price. A listing agent can make recommendations for home staging and/or any improvements that are necessary, as well as take photos or hire a photographer who can highlight the best features of your home. They’ll do the advertising, add your home to multiple listing services, and often even share it through various social media networks. They also hold open houses and coordinate showings with prospective buyers.
They Serve as the Negotiator
Most home sellers aren’t professional negotiators, something that just doesn’t come naturally to most people. The best listing agents know how to negotiate well and they’re better able to do so because they aren’t emotionally attached to the transaction. When you get an offer on your home, the listing agent will know whether any haggling needs to be done to get you a better deal. They can then attempt to negotiate with the buyer, bringing the price up or find other ways to improve the transaction such as waived contingencies or an earlier closing date.
If Your Home Doesn’t Sell, the Listing Agent Isn’t Paid
You don’t have to pay a listing agent upfront. They won’t receive any money at all, unless your home is sold. If it’s sold, the typical commission is 6% of the home’s selling price which is often split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. In most cases, it’s well worth the value you’ll get in return with your home more likely to sell, sell quicker and at the best possible price.
