When people consider selling their home, one of the first questions they often ask themselves is whether or not they should try to sell their house on their own instead of using a realtor. The first thought is that it will save 5-6% in commission costs that are paid to the listing and purchasing agents. However, recent statistics collected by Collateral Analytics have shown that when sellers chose ‘For Sale By Owner’ they can end up netting less of a profit because the sale price ends up being lower than it would be if sold using a realtor. There are many services a realtor provides that back up these statistics.
- Choosing the correct listing price: Realtors use sales from the past 6 months in order to accurately price a home. They have access to all of the sold data as well as information about the homes in order to make an accurate comparison. They also understand the current market and trends and can use that information to price your home correctly.
- Staging a home and professional photography: Many full-service realtors will do a walk-through with the home owner to help decide what needs to be done before putting the home on the market. Because of their experience with what does and doesn’t show well, they can help sellers choose paint colors, declutter rooms and give suggestions that will increase curb appeal. Once the house is staged, many realtors will hire professional photographers to come in and take HD photos, scan the home for a virtual tour, and construct floor plans. There are many marketing tools that agents will use, such as property websites, brochures, email blasts and more in order to promote your home.
- Exposure on the market: All licensed real estate agents have access to the MLS, or the Multiple Listing Service. Your home will be listed through this tool and allows other agents to see it as soon as it comes on the market. This tool also automatically populates popular websites such as Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com
- Communicating with other agents and potential buyers: Once a house is on the market, a realtor will spend many hours answering calls, emails and texts from prospective buyers and their agents. This can be time consuming and information may be required quickly. Additionally, agents will spend several hours on the weekends holding open houses for their listings.
- Understanding contracts: A realtor is well-trained in all of the contractual information required to sell and purchase a home. There is a lot of legality involved in the process and it can be hard to navigate if you aren’t familiar with the language of the lengthy sales contract.
A good realtor will absolutely earn their commission by working hard for you from the very beginning of the process through settlement. If you are thinking of selling your home and want an agent you can trust to work diligently for you and offer all of the latest tools for marketing, call me at (571)258-7962. I’ll be happy to start by giving you a free estimate of your home’s value.