Choosing The Right Sales Representative For You!
Real estate sales representatives are highly trained professionals who know all aspects of the real estate market. Finding the right sales representative for you will save you time, money and aggravation.
As with purchasing a home, you will want to list your home with a sales representative who is an expert in your area. Potential purchasers will be calling your expert to inquire about houses for sale in your area. You are building a relationship with your sales representative and it’s important that you feel comfortable with whoever is representing the sale of your home. Ask questions and take the time to interview prospective sales representatives. Getting to know each other is as important to you as it is to them.
Non-Exclusive or Exclusive Listing Arrangement?
By signing an exclusive listing arrangement with your sales representative, you are giving him or her the exclusive right to find a purchaser for your home. With this type of agreement, no other sales representative will bring potential buyers to your home, and only the listing sales representative is entitled to the commission.
This kind of arrangement may be of consideration in a Sellers' Market during, when there are more people interested in purchasing a home than there are homes available. You may also consider this type of agreement when signing a listing agreement with a sale representative that works for a large brokerage, as all the sales representatives within that brokerage work as a team; therefore improving your chances of finding a potential buyer for your home.
Understand Market Conditions
The real estate market is almost never static, rather it is in constant flux, not only as a whole but in particular areas as well. Knowing what is going on in the overall and local real estate markets will help you understand how these conditions can affect the sale of your home. The following explains the three types of market conditions. Be sure to speak to your sales representative and ask about the current market conditions before making a decision to list your home;
- Buyer’s Market – This type of market is occurs when the supply of homes available for purchase exceeds the demand for them. In this kind of market, homes generally remain on the market for longer periods of time, there is a high inventory of homes available giving buyers a wide selection from which to choose, and sale prices are either somewhat stable or dropping. In this kind of market, buyers usually spend more time looking at available homes and tend to have significantly more leverage when it comes to offer time.
- Seller’s Market – This type of market occurs when the number of potential buyers exceeds the supply of available homes on the market. In this kind of market, homes generally sell quickly, there is a smaller inventory of available homes giving buyers a narrower selection from which to choose, and the sale prices are usually higher and climbing. In this kind of market, buyers must make decisions quickly in order to secure an agreement with a vendor and have very little negotiating leverage with the vendor.
- Balanced Market – This type of market occurs when the supply of homes roughly equals the demand for them. It is the most fair type of market; equalizing the negotiating power between the seller and the buyer. In this market, the seller is inclined to entertain all reasonable offers and homes typically sell within a reasonable timeframe. With this type of market, home prices are usually fairly stable and there is significantly less tension between buyers and sellers.