THE QUESTION SELLERS FORGET TO ASK...

Sellers are very savvy these days. They understand the essential process of interviewing Realtors and getting referrals from friends and family. Sellers are getting better about understanding the critical decision to work with an Realtor who works and understands their neighborhood. The message of working with a Realtor as opposed to an agent is also starting to be part of the decision making process (Realtors are held to a higher ethical standard). They ask such questions as:

How long have you been selling real estate?
How many homes have you sold in the last year?
How are you going to market my home?
What do you believe is a fair market value of my home?
Do you do open houses?
Do you work in this neighborhood?
What is your commission?
Where do you advertise?

Here is the question that sellers forget to ask their Realtor:

How many of the homes you listed in the past year sold?

The reason I point this out is that this should also be a critical part of the decision making process. Let me explain. There is an agent that dominates a neighborhood. This is evidenced by the number of signs erected in the area with her name on them. You would think that this translates into sales. However, when researching the actual production of this agent, it is discovered that of the 30 homes she had listed, 14 were either withdrawn or expired, with only one of those 14 coming back on the market and eventually selling. This tells a story. This Realtor either overprices the homes she lists or has unsatisfied clients in the end. Either way, is this an agent a seller really wants to have representing them? If the seller had not asked this question, they would have thought that she only listed and sold 17 properties.

So, next time a seller interviews a Realtor to list their home, ask for all of the information needed to make an intelligent choice...including the ratio of listed to sold homes.