3. Housing Market Knowledge and Access
I’ve mentioned this before, but quite frankly, a real estate agent will know more about the real estate market than you do. Even if you’ve been following my advice to keep on top of the current market and do your research, agents are specifically trained in this area, and understand all the ins and outs and tips and tricks. For example, when you’re selling your home, you might learn that a home down the street from you was on the market for $325,000, but a professional, well-informed real estate agent will know additional, relevant information — for example, that the home had upgrades, and sold at $275,000 — after being on the market for 70 days. Agents also have very particular knowledge of local neighborhoods and conditions and have access to special resources and specific information that you will not have access to. Buyer’s and seller’s agents know how to put good deals together for their clients’ benefit. Buyer’s agents, in particular, will have readily available access to other properties listed by other agents, and can track down homes that meet your criteria (think of your list of needs and wants), contact the listing agents, and secure appointments for viewing the homes. Navigating this on your own is much more complicated and time-consuming without a good agent on your side.
4. Negotiation Expertise
We’ve dedicated two chapters in this book to negotiations process — both for sellers and buyers. This part of the home-selling/ home-buying process is critical, and having a real estate agent skilled at negotiations working for you will prove to be invaluable, even if you consider yourself a “decent” or even “expert” negotiator. A real estate agent specializes in negotiating in real
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