Why search for a realtor

Why Search for a Realtor, Anyway?

Finding Your Realtor by "Accident":

When someone decides it is time to sell their home, they interview several Realtors from different companies to determine which one is best for them. They want someone who will represent them and someone they feel will do an effective job at marketing their home. However, when someone decides to buy a home, they usually end up with their Realtor through sheer accident. Why don’t homebuyers search for a Realtor the same way that homesellers do?

Instead, homebuyers usually end up with a Realtor as a result of answering an advertisement. The advertisement will give a brief summary of a home available for sale along with the price, but it says nothing at all about the Realtor. The ad also does not say whether the property backs to a busy street or if the "ocean view" is available only by leaning out of the second story window with a pair of binoculars.

Listing Agents vs. Selling Agents

You see, there are listing agents and selling agents. Listing agents are the ones who "list" a home for sale on the Multiple Listing Service, and they deal primarily with sellers. Selling agents or "buyer’s" agents do not usually list homes very many homes for sale. They deal mostly with homebuyers. Buyer’s agents sell the homes that are placed in the MLS by the listing agents.

Most agents concentrate primarily on one side or the other. This is not a "hard and fast" rule. There are also agents who split their time equally between buyers and sellers. Often, these are the very best Realtors. The fact of the matter is, if you are buying a home who do you want on your side? A Realtor who deals primarily with sellers? Or one who deals mostly with buyers?

If you call on an advertisement in a newspaper or one of those home selling magazines, you are most likely calling the listing agent. Listing agents place ads for several reasons. First, they need to show the seller that they are doing something to sell their home. Second, by showing how much they advertise, they can also attract other individuals who are thinking of selling their homes. They point to their ads as an example of what they will do to market the house.

Why Agents Advertise - Is it What You Think?

What sellers don’t realize is that a listing agent’s main marketing emphasis is directed toward other Realtors, not the general public. Their main goal is to convince the selling agents (buyer's agents) to find buyers and make offers. This is a good thing because if you are selling a home, you want as many Realtors as possible bringing buyers around to take a look. Most of a listing agent's marketing efforts toward other Realtors are invisible to the general public, but it is where an effective listing agent does a home seller the most good.

One reason listing agents advertise homes in newspapers and magazines is to show their clients that they are aggressively marketing the property. When home sellers constantly see ads from a particular Realtor, they are inclined to want to list with that Realtor. So even though the ads look like they are directed toward home buyers, they often have another purpose. To attract home sellers.

Selling agents (buyer's agents) do advertise homes for sale in order to attract buyers. However, they don't really expect you to actually purchase the home you originally call on. They would be happy if you do, but it happens so rarely that they do not expect it.

When you call on a real estate ad, you often schedule an appointment to go look at the advertised home. While you are out looking at that home, you will probably want to look at a few others, too. Eventually, you and the Realtor will zero in on what you need and like in the proper price range and you will make an offer.

That is one way of finding your Realtor by accident.