Does listing agent matter?

[scott123456789]

We are going to be listing our place in a month or so and considering options for listing agent. I assume offering 3% to the buyer is required to have the largest buyers pool in a slowing market. But deciding between someone who has been an agent in the area for years and sells quite a few homes for 3%, vs a coworker who lives outside the area and doesn’t know much about horse properties but will list it for 1.5%. How likely am I to make up the 1.5% with someone well versed in the area?

I can get on Zillow and pull current comps and then getting closing prices from MLS with any agent. I believe I have a pretty good idea where we should come in price wise.

[aggie2000tx]

A listing agent looks out for the sellers best interest. A buyers agent looks out for the buyer’s interests.

Personally I would want the best person I could find to represent me in a real estate transaction.

[mikemorvan]

How bad do you want to sell the property?

Do you need to maximize the proceeds from the sale?

Do you want to potentially ruin a friendship with a coworker?

I would get someone that knows your market and is a proven producer.

[M16]

I’d interview them both and see what they do to market the property. Then decide on who to use. A good realtor should be able to sell themselves if they are capable of selling your property. Interview realtors. Don’t just pick one.

[scott123456789]

I’d interview them both and see what they do to market the property. Then decide on who to use. A good realtor should be able to sell themselves if they are capable of selling your property. Interview realtors. Don’t just pick one.

I guess that is my biggest question. Does making a promo video and throwing it on their Facebook page, or even doing paid ads matter when 90% of the buyers are getting daily/weekly emails from their own agent or searching Zillow themselves.

This won’t be listed at a price point where I would expect them to do published ads in horse magazines etc .

We found the property we just bought by searching MLS as it met the criteria we had established. Just feel like most sales work the same way these days, as long as we get a decent listing together and put a reasonable price on it.

[Tex_Cattleman]

A horse property is WAY different than a neighborhood house on Zillow. I'd be with a local agent with a proven track record for such properties. And I would gladly pay them and buyers agent their respective 3%.

[RiverRat1]

I’d interview them both and see what they do to market the property. Then decide on who to use. A good realtor should be able to sell themselves if they are capable of selling your property. Interview realtors. Don’t just pick one.

This. A good agent will tell you what you need to do to get max value and let you make decision if it's worth it.

If you want to do nothing except list it because you already have a price in your head (and won't listen to an agent on price) then use the buddy for 1.5%

And you shouldn't be looking for the 90% of "buyers" that 80% turn out to be tire kickers. But if it's just a property with horse fencing it may not matter much.

[TKRanch]

Keep in mind that a good listing agent familiar with the market should also come with an established customer base that can be important. When people find an agent they like they go back to them when they are looking again and a good agent has a list of what folks he knows might be looking for. I would never go cheap to save just a few bucks to risk the big picture. You can lose $ and you can also lose $ in the time it takes to sell. You may think you know what it should sell for, as most owners do, but reality is that an outside professional that really knows the market will likely have a very realistic value range based on better facts.

[txtrophy85]

100% matters who you use as a listing agent/broker. No matter how you cut it, experience matters.

[txtrophy85]

also, Zillow isn’t a resource I trust for any transaction. If this is a horse property, MLS typically isn’t gonna be inclusive of everything that has sold. Most agents just don’t give up comps with no reciprocation either.

[60 Deluxe]

The only thing that I ever got off of Zillow and Trulia was investment companies or their local contacts. Expect an offer from 60% to 65% of the true market from those folks. Touring the home won't be necessary. They have magical programs that will compare the pictures of your home and enter the pertinent data and come up with a price.

I've worked with the same real estate broker for several decades. We actually discuss marketing strategy and in this market, discovery of where the market really is price wise. I think that there are only a couple of heavily used sources of advertising in my market. One is an online newspaper and the other is Facebook postings. Not Facebook marketplace, but the realtors own Facebook page.

I wouldn't even consider an out of town realtor. Nor would I list with a new agent. If I'm going to pay a big chunk of the proceeds in commission, I want the property sold as quickly as possible. Empty houses or land are negative cash flow. The insurance and property taxes that we are seeing today are serious money and it's pretty easy to see a house that was bringing in a thousand dollars a month in profit turn into a house that is taking $600 a month out of your pocket.

[josh3]

I think OP is saying that someone who is a potential buyer is online looking for houses/ land they like ahead of time and then call their realtor about looking at said property they found while looking online.

myself for instance I’m in the market for 10+ acres in the Kerrville area and I look on realtor.com multiple times a day so that I can jump on something if it meets my needs. I will then call my realtor to secure a showing or place a bid if need be. I believe this is what the OP is referring to.

[scott123456789]

I think OP is saying that someone who is a potential buyer is online looking for houses/ land they like ahead of time and then call their realtor about looking at said property they found while looking online.

myself for instance I’m in the market for 10+ acres in the Kerrville area and I look on realtor.com multiple times a day so that I can jump on something if it meets my needs. I will then call my realtor to secure a showing or place a bid if need be. I believe this is what the OP is referring to.

You are getting what I’m saying. I just see far more people that are very serious about buying that are actively looking for something new to come up on MLS. A relationship or connection may get someone an early look at a property but once it’s on MLS anyone and their dog can see.

our place is unique in that is has one of the nicest barns in north Texas for sub 2 million properties with stall space to accommodate 18 horses potentially. But a smaller semi updated house on 7 acres. Someone will be buying it for the horse setup so it is a semi narrow audience but there just aren’t many for sale at all especially within 40 minutes of Fort Worth.

[Chance Love]

I can get on Zillow and pull current comps and then getting closing prices from MLS with any agent. I believe I have a pretty good idea where we should come in price wise.

When you say "current comps" from Zillow are you talking about asking prices? I DO NOT use Zillow (it is terribly inaccurate) but wasn't aware you could see true comps on it. And when you say "closing prices from MLS" I'm assuming you are talking about actual comps?

Selling land is a LOT different than selling a house. And I mentioned this on another real estate thread a while back, but I would not want someone representing me whose very first act is to negotiate themselves out of half of their fee. How good are they going to be when negotiating for you?

One thing not mentioned here when hiring an agent, and I believe should be the biggest factor, is trust. You need someone who you can trust to look out for your best interests. That doesn't always come in a shiny marketing package, and it doesn't always mean the highest $$ amount. Sometimes less is more, and sometimes more is less. Trust should be your determining factor.

[M16]

I want a realtor I can trust and also have a shiny marketing package. A realtor I can trust but doesn’t have an extensive potential client list or marketing plan is no bueno.