When it’s time to sell or rent your home, you want to find a real estate agent that has ample experience in the local property market. Their local knowledge ensures they understand current market conditions and how to best advertise your home to prospective buyers.
As our name suggests, here at LocalAgentFinder, we understand the importance of finding the right local real estate agent when selling or renting your property. So here are our top tips for finding a fantastic real estate agent in your neck of the woods.
Top tips for finding local agents
First, here’s a step-by-step guide to choosing the right agent or property manager to look after your property. We also have a handy checklist regarding what to look for in a real estate agent. But here are our top tips for initially finding the right local real estate agents:
Use a transparent online comparison service
Now, there are several free online services out there to help you compare agents and property managers. However, here’s the LocalAgentFinder difference:
- You give us just a few details and let us know what you’re looking for, and we recommend a shortlist of local real estate agents.
- You are in control of the entire process and can contact as many or as few agents as you like. We’re completely upfront about our costs because when we say there are no hidden fees, we mean it. Our real estate agent comparison service is completely free for property owners, and agent-neutral. The agent you choose will only pay LocalAgentFinder a referral fee once they successfully sell or rent your house.
Click here if you’re a property owner ready to give LocalAgentFinder a go.
Compare real estate agents fees
While an agent’s fees are an important factor to consider, they shouldn’t be the only factor. Take into account the other tips listed to ensure you find the right local agent for the job.
Now, when comparing real estate agent commissions and fees, you want to focus on whether they offer a percentage-based or fixed-fee commission structure. This means they either receive a percentage of the selling price or a fixed fee that doesn’t change, no matter the final selling price.
The next step is to understand what exactly is included in their fees, as some real estate agents will include marketing costs in their fees, whereas for others, it is an additional expense, which can significantly increase your budget. You can compare these costs and real estate agent fees easily with LocalAgentFinder.
Read homeowner reviews
A great place to start when comparing your top agents is reading unbiased reviews from other property owners to discover who is highly recommended in your local community.
Reviews provide insight and honest reflection of the agent’s local experience and expertise. While many people immediately turn to Google, LocalAgentFinder also has quality homeowner reviews on our website.
When looking, you want to see how many reviews a real estate agent has and over what period. The more reviews and the longer the period, the better. This demonstrates their consistency and local experience, which is a win-win situation.
Don’t hesitate to ask your leading agencies if you can speak to previous clients. If they have nothing to hide, they should be more than willing to provide this information to you so you can receive a further unbiased reflection of their work ethic.
Ask friends and family
Word-of-mouth is such a fundamental way to find the right agent for you. Ask local friends, family and colleagues if they have any local agent recommendations. Factor in these other considerations to determine whether they’re the right person to rent or sell your property.
An unconventional word-of-mouth route is to inspect your suburb for sale signs and see if there are particular leading agencies dominating your neighbourhood. If so, these top agents might be worth investigating too.
Understand their local property market experience
You want to find a good agent or property manager with local market experience for several reasons. Foremostly, if they understand the local property market like the back of their hand, they’ll know the right selling strategies, including your property’s value and expected selling price. They can also tailor a marketing plan that targets your prospective buyer demographic.
Secondly, if they have recently sold or rented similar properties in the area, the local agent should have an existing potential buyer and tenant database. This might be people who missed out on a recent purchase or rental but are actively looking for a property like yours.
When interviewing potential local agents, don’t hesitate to put them to the test. For example, ask them what they know about nearby schools, zoning, the neighbourhood’s average demographic and the public transport available.
Focus on their marketing strategy
A good agent who explicitly knows the local area will create an advertising campaign that mixes traditional and digital marketing methods to attract as many buyers as possible.
Ask your real estate agent what their marketing plan involves. It should include the following list as a minimum:
- Online listings on realestate.com.au, domain.com.au and the agency’s website.
- A print listing in the local newspaper.
- A signboard for the front of your property.
- Brochures or flyers for open house inspections.
- Professional photography.
- An email blast to their database.
- Social media marketing.
Schedule a property appraisal
A great way to understand an agent’s local experience is via a property appraisal, as it’s based on both their local property market experience and your property’s physical features.
Experts suggest organising two to three property appraisals from different local agents. But remember to compare the agent’s valuation with your previous research before you decide on the right agent.
Fortunately, it’s easy to book a property appraisal at LocalAgentFinder. Plus, this blog post will help you prepare for your property appraisal.
Ask the right questions
To find the right agent, you need to ask the right questions. Here are some helpful examples:
- What experience do you have? This can include local experience and general experience in the real estate industry as a whole.
- What local properties have you recently sold or rented? A good real estate agent will happily tell you all the details about their recent sales, including the expected and obtained selling price, the selling method and how long it remained on the property market.
- How will you advertise and sell my property? This includes discussing their marketing plan and the online/offline advertising strategy, who will manage open house inspections and how they handle negotiations.
- What are your fees? Ask them about their fees and their preferred commission structure (whether it’s a fixed fee or a percentage-based fee), so you can compare them to other shortlisted agents.
- Why are you the right agent to sell my property? Many of us may not like this interview question, but it’s helpful in this scenario, and it will highlight what the agent believes to be the most crucial aspect of selling your property.
Finally, while interviewing real estate agents to rent or sell your property, pay attention to whether you feel comfortable around them and if the agency offers a professional service. It always pays to trust your instincts; if you don’t think they’re trustworthy, potential buyers won’t either.
Ready to compare agents?
Now you know exactly what you’re looking for, are you ready to compare agents? LocalAgentFinder is a free comparison service that allows you to compare local real estate agents anonymously with no strings attached. One quick search and you can see everything from their fees to their strategies to homeowner reviews, so you have all the information and resources needed to make an informed decision.
Our dedicated customer care team is also based in Australia and is always happy to assist. So feel free to contact them on 133 033 for helpful advice.