A REALTOR®’s job is to sell, and the first sale they make is to you.
You know that less-than-awesome experience you had the last time you tried to sell your house?
You were diligent about interviewing multiple real estate agents, had a list of questions you asked each of them, and were confident with the choice you made. But things didn’t really go like you expected, and while you can’t entirely put your finger on what it was, it just wasn’t great.
Afterall, you chose the person with the most experience and who had the best stats. Or at least you thought you did, based on the questions you asked. So what gives?
Here’s where things went wrong:
The questions you’ve been asking don’t paint the real picture. Afterall, when you do a quick online search for “REALTOR® interview questions”, or “questions to ask when hiring a REALTOR®” more often than not the lists are coming from agents themselves. And let’s be honest, we don’t usually like making ourselves look bad.
Now, you’re probably thinking “isn’t what I’m reading written by real estate agents?” You’re right, we are agents too. And that is exactly why we know which questions you need to ask to get the answers you’re actually looking for.
With these 3 BETTER questions, the next time you’re ready to buy or sell a property, you’ll know how to get the answers you want instead of the answers the agent wants to give you.
What you’ve been asking: How long have you been a REALTOR®?
What you’re really asking with this question is how much experience a real estate agent has. And that’s great! Understanding the experience of each REALTOR® you interview is an important part of choosing the one who’s right for you.
Where this particular question falls short is in getting an accurate understanding of how many transactions (or deals) each REALTOR® has completed, which is a more definitive metric of experience.
In Saskatoon, for example, the average real estate agent does about 6 deals per year. So for someone who does the average, and has been in the industry for 10 years, you’re looking at about 60 transactions worth of experience.
Now let’s say that you ask another agent the same question and they say they’ve also been in the industry for 10 years. What they don’t tell you is that they do an average of 3 deals per year. So even though they’ve been in the industry for the same amount of time, they only have half as much experience.
This concept works the other way around as well. If you ask a relatively new agent how long they’ve been a REALTOR®, they may say 2 years. Automatically, you assume an agent who has been in the industry for 10 years has the most experience. But now you’re starting to see why framing your question that way doesn’t give you an accurate picture.
If instead you ask the “new agent” how many transactions they’ve done, you might learn that this agent does 35 per year. So in the 2 years this new agent has been working, they have 70 transactions worth of experience. That’s even more than the agent who’s been doing an average number of deals for a decade!
Real estate is a fast-paced and changing industry. While there is relevance to all experience, there is more relevance to recent experience. Even though Saskatoon, Prince Albert, and other Saskatchewan communities tend to react and change more slowly compared to larger Canadian markets, they are still constantly changing.
If an agent’s experience is important to you, you want to make sure their experience is relevant to today’s market. What happened in Saskatchewan 10 years ago, 5 years ago or even 3 years ago can be largely irrelevant today. The agents who know and understand the market the best, are the ones largely involved with transactions this year.
Ask Instead: How many deals have you done in the last year (or two)?
By simply reframing the question, you can extract the information you’re actually looking for (who has the most experience) and ensure you’re choosing the right agent for you.
What you’ve been asking: What is your average Days on Market?
People often recommend asking a REALTOR® for their Average Days on Market (DOM) statistic. The intention behind this question is to gain an understanding of how long it’s going to take for your property to sell with each agent you interview.
While it seems like a reasonable question to ask, what agents aren’t telling you is that this is a highly unreliable metric because it can be directly and indirectly skewed. Let’s look at what makes this number unreliable:
Type of Property
Certain types of properties tend to sell faster than others. For example, a multi-million dollar property in Saskatchewan typically takes longer to sell than an average priced single-family home.
Why it Matters
If your agent typically sells mid-level single family homes, and you’re looking to sell a million dollar property, that agent’s average DOM isn’t going to accurately represent how long it will take to sell your property.
List Price
The list price for a property can have a substantial impact on the number of days a property sits on the market. While it is your agent’s job to assist you with an in-depth market evaluation, ultimately the list price should be entirely up to you.
A house that is priced higher than the market supports will ultimately be for sale longer (creeping up those DOM stats). Likewise, an underpriced home will typically move very quickly, skewing the numbers in the opposite direction.
Why it Matters
Your agent should be focused on helping you to make the best choice for you – regardless of how it impacts their days on market statistics.
MLS Marketing Features
One of the more recent and very helpful features available in Saskatchewan through the MLS system is the ability to “bump” a listing. This feature allows agents to refresh a listing once per month to gain additional exposure.
Canceling and relisting a property is another way agents help gain additional exposure for their listings. There is no limit to the number of times this can be done.
Why it Matters
While these options can be very helpful in gaining additional momentum for a listed property, when an agent utilizes these features, the Days On Market statistic reverts back to 0.
So a property that has actually been for sale for many months, would never show as more than 30 days on market. It gives the impression that an agent moves their properties very quickly, when in fact that may not be the case at all.
Ask Instead: What is your list to sell ratio?
You want to know if the agent you’re interviewing is going to be able to sell your property. Asking them about their list to sell ratio is a more reliable metric, because it answers your question about whether or not their listings frequently sell, and it can’t be skewed in the same way as the Days on Market statistic can.
What you’ve been asking: How much is the commission?
This is obviously an important question, because understanding what you will have to pay to sell your property is paramount. You can find everything you need to know about real estate commissions in Saskatchewan here.
But there is much more that you’re going to want to know. In addition to how much the commission is, the biggest thing you’re going to want to find out is if you are locked into any sort of contract.
Now, to be clear, you will have to sign a contract (called the Sellers MLS Brokerage Contract) in order to have your property listed with a REALTOR®. However, the terms of your contract can vary depending on which brokerage and REALTOR® you choose.
Some REALTOR®’s will lock you into a listing contract for a specified amount of time. Others might require you to pay some amount of compensation if you cancel before the end date.
While this all has to be discussed before the contract is signed, this is something you want to know before you decide which agent to work with, as it may ultimately impact your choice.
Buyer Brokerage Contracts
This may seem like a topic that is only relevant to sellers, but it’s actually important for buyer’s as well. Some brokerages have moved to using a contract called an Exclusive Buyer’s Brokerage contract.
This contract is an agreement between a buyer and an agent stating that the buyer will exclusively use the specified agent for their purchase and are agreeing that the agent be compensated a certain amount. In the event that a buyer chooses a property with a commission that falls short of the agreed upon amount, the buyer is responsible for making up the difference.
You can read more about these types of contracts here.
Ask Instead: How much is the commission, what are the terms of your service and do you offer any sort of guarantee?
As important as the commission is, understanding the full picture of what you’re getting into is even more important.
Life changes and sometimes things come up quite unexpectedly. One day you think you’re moving and the next you’ve lost your job, couldn’t get financing, your mother-in-law decides to move to town, or you decide that you no longer want to work with this REALTOR®.
Any number of things can change at any time. You don’t want something to change and only then realize that you are locked into your real estate contract. By rephrasing your question about commission, you’ll not only find out how much it will cost to work with an agent, you’ll also ensure you have a full picture of what you’re signing up for.
What’s Next?
Listing with a REALTOR® can be a very rewarding and enjoyable experience! They can take the stress out of the sale, and use their skills and expertise to get you the best price possible for your home.
The path to this great experience starts with finding the agent who’s right for you. You get there by asking better questions, that get you to the answers you’re really looking for.
Your 3 Better Questions to Ask When Hiring a REALTOR® are:
- How many deals have you done in the last year (or two)?
- What is your list to sell ratio?
- How much is the commission, what are the terms of your service and do you offer any sort of guarantee?
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Other Helpful Posts About Selling Your Home in Saskatchewan
- What is a Home Evaluation?
- Will Other Agents Show My Property if I List with a Discount Brokerage?
- The Ultimate Guide to Selling in Saskatoon
