Like all professions, there can be a significant difference in the competence and expertise of real estate agents.
In real estate, that difference translates to your $dollars.
Simply put, the best agents (and there’s a big difference between quantity and quality, but that’s another blog…) are the ones that will sell your home for more.
Those of us who do great work for our clients hold our ground on our fees, which are normally already competitive.
We know the value we bring to the table. And how much extra $money we put in our clients’ pockets.
But there will always be agents desperate enough for business that they’re prepared to drop their daks on their selling fees to win it.
Isn’t that a good thing? I hear you ask. Doesn’t that mean I’ll be saving money?
The phrase “You get what you pay for” exists for a reason.
Low fees initially sound great, but when you go through the sums, choosing the low fee agent doesn’t mean you end up with more money.
The cheapest agent isn’t the one that offers you the lowest selling fee, it’s the one that’s capable of getting you the best result.
For example, say my selling fee is 2.2.% and my competitor is offering 1.8%. On the face of it, my fees seem much higher and that selling with me will cost you more.
But that’s only if you assume we work exactly the same and will sell the property for the same price.
Let’s take a property worth around $800,000 for example.
If my market knowledge, presentation advice, and superior process mean that I sell a property for $810,000, so only $10k above asking, versus the lower-skilled, low fee agent who sells it for $800,000, or even less (!), you would come away with a minimum $6580 more in your pocket even after paying the higher 2.2 % fee.
Who’s the cheapest agent now?
The question you need to ask is:
How likely is it that the agent that can only win business by offering me the lowest selling fee, is going to have the necessary level of expertise, sales process, and negotiation skills to get me the best result?
The financial risks involved when you engage an agent that’s incapable of doing the job you need them to do are huge.
If you screw up selling a house, there’s no second chance – that money is gone.
And if that same low fee agent is promising you the highest sale price too? Run!
So the question is, can you afford the risk of going with the cheapest agent?
“It’s unwise to pay too much,
Unknown
but it’s worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that’s all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything,
because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the job
the thing was bought to do.”
So when an Agent promises you a low fee to sell your home, ask yourself, are you prepared to get what you’re paying for?
And if you want to engage a professional who will ensure your home isn’t undersold, talk to us here at Red Fox. We’d love to help.
