People use real estate professionals for the same reasons they hire lawyers, wedding planners, maids and auto mechanics—they need someone with the expertise they don’t have themselves, or someone who can at least help make their lives easier.
What do real estate agents offer that home-buyers and -sellers either can’t do themselves or prefer not to? Plenty. Here are six reasons to use real estate professionals:
Neighborhood Savvy
Identifying comparable sales in your neighborhood is just the start of what a real estate agent can do. This can help sellers set a price for their home and buyers know if they’re getting a good deal.
In looking at comparables, a good agent can tell you why a home is listed for a higher price than others—such as to reflect home upgrades—or why a home’s price has dropped after buyers backed out.
Pricing Assistance
Real estate agents can help sellers set prices and help buyers negotiate. Market supply, demand and the conditions of a home are some of the elements agents can weigh to determine fair market value.
Knowledge of Market Conditions
Multiple data points are analyzed daily by real estate agents to determine the market conditions that weigh on the selling and buying process. These include the average per-square-foot cost, median and average sales prices, average days on market and ratios of list-to-sold prices for similar homes.
Negotiating Skills
Having a third party who isn’t emotionally attached to the process can be a big benefit when buying or selling a home. With their honed negotiating skills, real estate agents present their client’s case in the best light and keep their client information confidential.
Industry Resource
Throughout the process of buying or selling a home, chances are you’ll have plenty of questions that your real estate agent will be the best person to answer. Your agent can straighten out any problems that pop up, which can be especially important as the closing date nears.
