Extensive knowledge of the market

A big advantage when working with real estate agents has to do with their knowledge. They are familiar with the market as a whole, but their local market has no secret for them. This knowledge allows them to determine the perfect price for a property, taking into account the peripheral factors : attractivity of the neighbourhood, supply and demand for the type of property and this location...

Moreover, estate agents have an extensive database of previous sales in your area. They almost know what a property is worth just by looking at its dimensions and location. Private individuals often propose a price for their listing above the market which in the end leads to inefficiency, extend the selling time and always decreasing their listing’s price.

Real estate agents are in daily contact with both buyers and sellers. This means that they know who is looking and what they are looking for. A real estate agent is very likely to match the perfect buyer with the perfect property. A skill that can lead to getting a higher selling price.

Estate agents are also able to quickly identify unqualified buyers. There are always visitors who want to pay a visit out of curiosity. For individuals who want to arrange the sale themselves, these curiosity-visits take a lot of time and energy: from arranging the date and time to making sure the property is entirely clean.

Anyone wants to reduce those "curiosity visits" to an absolute minimum. Pre-qualification is one of the many tasks a real estate agent does. By giving guided virtual tours of a home to anyone curious to discover the property, the agent is able to filter the potential buyer and only conduct physical visits with those who are truly interested.

Technology that drives sales

Real estate agents have access to market-specific technology that the average consumer doesn’t. Like the guided virtual tours, the new flagship-feature in the real estate market, and as a non-real estate agent, it’s almost impossible to create one. The software and hardware needed are not accessible enough. In fact, they are often not even available for non-brokers.

A guided virtual tour, however, is something there is a great demand for. 85% of potential buyers want to take a virtual tour before they make an in-person one. As we also previously, without that type of technology individuals are more likely to lose time with non-interested buyers.

Estate agents have access to a lot more technology like CRM tools that let them filter and efficiently manage all visit requests, as well as easy solutions to create impressive visual assets that make their properties stand out from the other listing.

A network full of potential buyers

Of course, individuals can also put their house on the market themselves. There are numerous real estate websites and portals accessible by anyone to sell or rent their property, but is this enough? Real estate agents are in daily contact with potential buyers and sellers. And today's seller is often tomorrow's buyer.

Because estate agents have such a large network at their disposal, they also create more demand. The rule of supply and demand applies: the greater the demand, the higher the price.

Plus, real estate agents are also able to sell a house more quickly. They immediately start working in their network to sell your house and do so on a daily basis – spending their entire day making sure their listings are visible, visited and sold. Individuals usually can only spend a small amount of hours per week on this extra job.

A higher selling price

Strong negotiating skills are important when entering into a sales agreement. Because of their experience, estate agents know what works and what doesn't. They also know how to negotiate with potential buyers. As a result, they guarantee to sell.

The expertise of a real estate agent ensures that homes are sold at the highest price possible. The higher the sales price is, the higher the commission of the agent. It’s therefore also the aim of any estate agent to make sure they sell the house for the highest possible price. How do they do that? Just by using their skills learned from selling other listings.

To wrap-up

Estate agents won’t disappear any time soon. Although their value is not immediately visible to many, it’s definitely there and not to be overlooked. Homeowners often think that by selling the property themselves, they’ll receive a higher net amount from the sale. But this is rarely the case. Individuals also underestimate the time and energy that selling a property needs. The power of the estate agent lies precisely in pushing up the price and speeding up the sales process, so everybody wins.

We would love to hear your insights on this! Namely, why you would not choose a real estate agent. Or how did you experience the process of selling yourself? Let us know here! We would love to hear from you.

FAQ

To sum up

WHY DOES A REAL ESTATE AGENT WANT TO SELL A PROPERTY AT THE HIGHEST PRICE ?
Real estate agents live on commission. Each sale or rental earns them a certain percentage. Now it is logical that if they can sell the property at a higher price, they will also earn more. Therefore, real estate agents are always extremely motivated to get the most out of the property.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE CUSTOMER NETWORK OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS?
The value lies in the fact that the real estate agent undoubtedly knows someone who will want to buy your property. If you want to sell yourself, you still have to find this person, which slows down the selling process. Real estate agents keep track of what each specific client is looking for. This way they can contact them directly when they have a property that meets their requirements.

WHY DOES WORKING WITH A REAL ESTATE AGENT ENSURES A FASTER SALE AT A HIGHER PRICE?
It is the combination of different things that allows this to happen. The network the real estate agent has at his disposal, new technologies and sales skills all ensure that the price is driven up. In addition, they live on commission, so they are intrinsically motivated to sell at the highest possible price.