The Benefits of Having Real Estate Agents

With all the resources available these days on real estate – free listings, easy-to-place buy and sell ads both in online and regular publications, internet and web sale sites and the like, do people buying or selling homes still need to hire real estate agents?

Real estate is a considerable investment. Often, it involves more money and longer commitments than, say, buying a car. With that kind of outlay and commitment doesn’t it make far more sense to be hiring professionals to give you advice and take care of the tough stuff involved? Especially for those who are relocating (or planning to relocate) and need to take care of other matters involved in the move, a real estate agent can often help in making the process of buying or selling your home less troublesome, so you can concentrate on making preparations for the relocation.

Whether you are buying or selling your house, chances are you will benefit from having an agent.  Here are a few of the benefits you get when you hire professionals.

Experience and Expertise

Real estate agents have specialized knowledge about the industry of real estate business, the kind that comes from years of experience in selling houses and other kinds property over and over.  With this kind of experience, it means they can do the job of selling or buying property more easily, efficiently and quickly than you.

After all, it is their job, and they do it well! They make negotiation a lot easier, offering advice on offers and counter-offers, perhaps even handle the negotiation for you as well!

They are also more knowledgeable about the specific steps and processes involved in buying a house, from knowing the right prices to the legalities involved in real estate transactions.

In fact, they can even help in drafting contracts as well as marketing your house for sale, or if you’re buying or selling a house with an eye to relocate, real estate agents can help with the relocating itself, as well as other aspects of relocation.

Knowledge of the Neighborhood

Another component of realtor expertise, this comes in handy for those who are planning to relocate. If you are relocating to a neighborhood that you are not familiar with, agents can determine what houses are for sale in that neighborhood, as well as standard prices for similar listings in the area of relocation as well. A good agent should also have important information about the neighborhoods, including noise levels, quality of schools, access to transportation, property taxes and profiles of residents. These are details that are not only important to buyers but for sellers as well, since they also affect demand for the house being sold and prices at which they can be sold. 

Efficiency. Having an agent helps streamline the process of either buying or selling a home, because they will filter unsuitable candidates on both sides of the real estate transaction. If you're buying a new home, your agent will be able to shortlist only those homes suitable to your budget, needs and specifications, and at the same time serve as a first line of defense against having many development agents bothering you with their calls.  For those on the selling side, an agent will be able to field all those phone inquiries too, sorting out the qualified and serious buyers from those who are not to minimize stress and wasted time.

The multiple listing service, or MLS, is a database of all the homes for sale by real estate agents in a particular region. Listing a home in it makes information about it is available to all the agents in the area.  If you are buying a home, this means that your agent also has access to all the homes listed by other agents, so they have a wider pool to choose from, making it easier to find exactly the kind of house or property you are looking for. If you are a seller, on the other hand, this means that it isn’t only your agent who is selling your home– all the agents in the area are working to sell it as well!

Getting the price right. Agents know more about valuation and pricing of houses and other property.  This means they will be able to set more realistic and attractive pricing on a house, something crucial in real estate.  If the price is set too high, buyers may back off because it is too expensive, while if the price is too low, the property owner not just loses getting the full value for the property being sold, it will also create the perception that the house is too cheap. Believe it or not, statistics show that sellers who use a real estate agent receive an average of 20 percent more for their homes than those who do not have an agent!