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| Hire a Local Agent |
Listing your home with an agent who specializes in your area is the best ticket to getting maximum exposure of your house to buyers. Agents who have worked a locale for several years are going to be well versed in the area's price trends, recent comparable sales history, the neighborhood's strengths and weaknesses, and how to work these factors to your advantage. Also, local agents tend to support one another by bringing buyers to the listed properties of colleagues. As area specialists, they have a strong interest in making as many local sales as possible. Because out-of-town listing agents are not part of the local sales network, your property could be at a marketing disadvantage. To find a good local agent, interview several candidates.
- Ask how many homes the agent has sold in the neighborhood in during the past year
Get a list from the agent; it is a good measure of the agent's familiarity with the area and should include list price, sales price, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and time on the market.
- Gauge the depth of the agent's knowledge of neighborhood price and marketing trends
Knowing where local prices have been can help you set an appropriate listing price. A non-local agent may suggest a higher list price. But if it doesn't match prices of comparable homes in the area, and isn't backed by marketing that fits local custom and current prices, you could lose potential buyers.
- Ask to contact the agent's last three to five sellers
Find out if they were satisfied customers and if not, why not. Good agents will be happy to let former clients add ballast to their sales pitches.
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