How much time does a Realtor spend getting ready to talk with you about your real estate needs (either buying or selling)?  How much time should they spend?  Well, how well did you prepare for your last job interview?

Truthfully, successful Realtors spend a LOT of time on job interviews.  Every meeting with a potential buyer or seller is a job interview.  Going on lots of interviews gives a Realtor practice.  Most people don’t get as much practice interviewing potential employees as Realtors do interviewing potential employers so here are some important questions to ask and (more importantly) the answers you should be looking for:

1) How do Realtors work in this area?  All agents in NC are required to review a document called “Working with Real Estate Agents” at “First Substantial Contact (FSC).”  FSC occurs when a customer/potential client begins to disclose personal information.  Any Realtor should be able to give you a very clear understanding of how agents work in your area, including dual and designated agency.

2) What percentage of your business is buyers and what percentage is sellers?  This question will give you some real insight into the type of agent that you’re interviewing.  If they don’t know the answer, it’s a sign that they aren’t taking their business seriously.  The answer that you’re looking for is generally a balanced business (about a 50/50 split), but this may change given local market conditions.  Additionally, if the balance is heavily weighted towards either buyers or sellers, make sure that it matches your needs- you may not want to list a home with someone who specializes on working with buyers.

3) How many homes have you sold in the last year? This is a great question to ask a Realtor whether you’re interviewing them about listing your home or helping you find a home to purchase.   In general, an agent needs to be selling at least a home a month to be considered full-time and, when interviewing someone to help you find a home to purchase, you need to make sure that they can demonstrate expertise in the area where you want to buy.  As an example, I would never sell a home in Southport- I simply don’t know the market.

4) What is your agent rank in the local board? This is a good follow-up question to #3.  Given the current market conditions, some Realtors may not have huge sales numbers, but still rank well in the board.

5) How do you market listings? In this question, I urge you to seek WHY an agent markets listings a certain way.  There are many, many new and different toys out there for marketing listings but not all of the really sell homes.  According to the recent NAR Home Buyer and Seller Surveys, the overwhelming majority (over 80%) of buyers that purchased homes in previous years found the home that they purchased through either the internet, a Realtor or a yard sign.  It wasn’t a “homes” book and it wasn’t from direct mail.  Make sure your agent has a well thought out plan for marketing listings and good reasons for the way that they do business.

6)How do you communicate with your clients? The number 1 complaint about Realtors is that don’t communicate well.  My definition of exceptional service is insuring that my clients NEVER have to call me to find out what’s happening with their listing or transaction. A great Realtor will answer this question with the question “How would you like for me to communicate with you?  How often and through what method, phone, text, email or all of it?”

7) Why should I do business with you?  If a Realtor can’t answer this question honestly, from the heart and with great confidence, you’ve probably got the wrong Realtor.  Truthfully, if an agent doesn’t think that they are the BEST Realtor to represent you, they have a fiduciary obligation to refer you to the agent that is the BEST.

8) What is my house worth?  This works for your current (if you’re a seller) and future (if you’re a buyer) home.  A Realtor should be able to answer this question with some well thought out reasoning as to why the home is worth a certain amount.  Additionally a good Realtor should be able to explain the trajectory of the market and why things are doing what they are doing.

9) Do you offer any type of performance guarantee?  What happens if you, as the consumer, are unhappy with your agent’s performance?  Do you have the right to terminate the agency relationship?  Most good Realtors have some sort of release clause in their agency contracts.

10) May I have a copy of your references?  If the agent that your are interviewing doesn’t have references ready for you to call, you should talk to someone else.  This may mean that they don’t have any good references, or that they haven’t sold enough real estate to have references, or that they don’t care enough about their past clients to stay in touch with them.  A GREAT agent will give you all the clients that they’ve done business with in the last 12 months as well as reference’s phone number.

Good luck interviewing your next agent.  If I can help you in any way, please contact me!

I recently represented a buyer in the purchase of this oceanfront second home on Topsail Island, pictured above.  The house was originally listed for $599,900, features beautiful ocean views and is tucked away in a quiet, private are of Topsail Beach, NC.  I was able to negotiate a sales price of $510,000 with some seller paid closing costs. The key to negotiating this transaction was understanding the market, how many homes are available, how long the property had been on the market.  Special thanks to the listing agent for being a real professional and collaborating with me on getting the deal done!

To read what the buyer had to say about my services, CLICK HERE.

Unbelievably the first quarter is already over!  Here’s the Wilmington area market by the numbers:

• 1066  is the year of the Battle of Hastings, but for the purpose of this blog, it is the number of transactions (including land, multi-family, and boat slips) closed in the first quarter 2012.  This represents a 9.56% increase in the number of transactions closed in the first quarter of 2011

• 497 homes (these are single family residences only) were sold in New Hanover County during the first quarter

• 5.46% increase in the total volume sold in the Wilmington market

• $210,490 is the average sales price for the market, representing a 3.74% decrease compared to the average sales price in First Quarter 2011 ($218,664.62)

• 403 Realtors sold anything, which represents approximately 25% of the total board population

The meaning behind these numbers is important.  The increase in number of transactions and volume indicates that we have seen a turn in the market.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are at THE bottom, rather that the market is turning and we are consuming inventory.  Consumption of inventory is massively important in getting back to a balanced real estate market.

The relatively small percentage of agents that have sold anything is a good indicator of who is really in the business and who’s just along for the ride.

Hope this snippet is helpful and, of course, please let me know if you have any questions!

Many companies teach their agents to use these tricks to try and create more business. I’d like to highlight them both for their ridiculousness and to teach you how to see past them.

The question boils down to whether or not agents are consultant-based or transaction-based, whether they want to help or they just want to make money.

Here are the 8 stupid Realtor tricks to look out for:

1) Using their listings as BAIT- trying to make consumers call into the office to ask the sales price by doing one of the following:

• Intentionally leaving a flyer box empty
• Intentionally leaving the price off of a flyer
• Buying listings (see below) just so that they can pick up buyer leads.

2) Alphabet Soup- ABR, SRES, SIOR, etc. Really just a jumble of letters after their name. Most consumers have no idea what they mean and most Realtors haven’t kept their designations updated or paid their renewal dues.

3) Advertising a property as “Great Deal, Act Now, Won’t Last” even after its been on the market for 6 months….really? I can see it won’t last long. Obviously. Umm, update your marketing.

4) Calling FSBO’s and saying “I might have a buyer for your home”. This is a misleading tactic that agents use to get their foot in the door and then follow up. Relationships ought to get started on a foundation of honesty, not manipulation. If the Realtor actually has a client, that’s one thing, but if they are falsely getting the FSBO’s hopes up, they aren’t really coming from contribution are they?

5) Guaranteed Sale Programs- these are designed ONLY to get Realtors appointments to talk with potential sellers. Always ask “how many of these homes have you actually bought?” In reality most Realtors using these programs are only willing to pay something on the order of 50-60% of market value and they will usually charge a commission.

6) Buying Listings- telling the seller what they want to hear on price then “beating” the seller down on price over time. If a Realtor guarantees that they can get a certain price, put a clause in the listing agreement that if they EVER ask for a price reduction the Seller has the right to terminate the listing.

7) Consistently, repeatedly posting their listings to Facebook- this isn’t interesting or fun and is really just another version of SPAM

Using outdated pictures- ummmm, if your picture doesn’t look like you, then get a new one. Period. End of story.

Good business is built on trust. If you see any of these tricks, either your agent doesn’t have a mind of their own and they’re just doing what their broker told them to do, or you should run because they’re being dishonest from the start.

In all of my years of experience in the real estate world, I’ve noticed that most people fit agents into one of two categories. Either an agent is a money-driven go getter, or if you read my last article, you would know that the other agent makes less than $48,000 a year and is the passive “social media” agent.

But what about the agents that spend thousands of dollars educating people about real estate, handle their practice in a highly professional manner, network with individuals both on and offline, and that make a substantial living executing win-win real estate transactions?

Where is their club? Where is their recognition?

I propose that there is this “third type” of agent. I believe that this is the future of real estate and it has its own set of rules and principles.

The more educated the public becomes about real estate the more they’ll know whether their agent will “cut it” or not. This will lead to less agents, but better agents. This will reset the industry and only this “third type” of agent will survive.

So what characteristics does this “third type” of agent have, and how will it benefit the people they serve. Here are just a few of them:

They spend time to educate clients

This will not be the most efficient thing an agent can do, but it is absolutely necessary in building a long term relationship built on trust and solid real estate transactions. The money-driven go getter makes no time for this, and the extent of their education is a handout, not a full blown blog and platform like this one.

They use social media to communicate, not just sell

The world of social media is terribly misunderstood. It’s nothing more than having a conversation with a friend over coffee, except it’s online. Social media is a platform for communication, and if all you ever do is sell, people will turn you off.

They know their market

Want to know where to find information on school districts? Want to know the best areas to live in for your social life? The best restaurants? The best desserts? The best places to take your kids? These are all things that the “third type” of agent knows. They are heavily vested in their communities and finding the answers to these questions is part of giving a client the best options possible.

If you feel like you’re unsure whether or not your agent is of this “third type”, feel free to leave a comment and we’ll discuss your situation. This blog was designed to help as many people as possible learn more about real estate and your questions will only lead to increasing the value of this platform.

It’s my goal that the people get properly served when it comes to buying and selling their homes. It’s my hope that the entire industry evolves and becomes built entirely on this “third type” of agent.

If you want to be a master at anything, you’ll need to put in at least 10,000 hours of work.

In the context of hiring a Realtor, the market is flooded with agents that are a little shy of 10,000 hours …to say the least.

Did you know that the over 94% of agents in the country make less than $48,000 a year? It’s easy for an agent to wow you with their fancy clothes and new cars, but the reality is that 94% of agents out there will not be properly prepared to service you as your agent.

Your house is the biggest investment you’ll make over the course of your life, so doesn’t it make sense to make sure that you’ve hired a real estate “master”? The knowledge that one gains as a master agent can pay dividends for you and your real estate transaction.

Some of the benefits of choosing a master agent are:

• Thorough knowledge of your market
• Knowing when the other agent is bluffing or serious about an offer
• Negotiating prices so that you’re getting the top dollar at the closing table
• A solid network of the best appraisers, inspectors, contractors, and resources
• A steady stream of potential buyers for your home

There are so many benefits to hiring a master agent, especially when the commission you’re paying out is the same for the good agents or the bad ones.

The housing market has never been as confusing as it is right now. Prices and price correction will vary depending on where you live, cities, neighborhoods, school districts, etc. Six years ago, everyone understood what was going on: Home values were rising, and fast. Two years ago, it was the opposite; values were falling all across the country.

Now, however, we are seeing mixed values everywhere. According to Q2 Real Estate Market Reports, values rose in 94 of the 154 markets that were covered. Nationally, values were still falling, so “unpredictable” might be a great way to describe our current market.

So how do we know what’s going to happen in different markets? In the absence of market-level forecasts, one way to explore this is by looking at price-to-income ratio. It’s not the absolute best way to predict markets, but more often than not, prices will always go back to their normal levels based on income.

Where have values fallen below their historic norms? That was the case in one-third of the markets, and Las Vegas (25% below the market’s historic price-to-income level), Detroit (35% below) and Modesto, CA (18% below) had some of the most dramatic numbers. Does that mean Vegas home values need to rise by 25% for Vegas to regain normalcy? Not necessarily – there have surely been significant changes in the area’s economy since the housing recession began – but it means there’s a good chance that home values there have over-corrected, and may have some room to rise before the market levels out again.

On the other side of the coin, markets like Virginia Beach, Honolulu, and Charleston would need to fall by at least 50% to reconnect with traditional income levels. That doesn’t mean values will fall by 50% in those markets, but it could signal either a significant change in their economies, or that home values do have somewhat farther to fall.

If you would like to discuss how I think our markets in Wilmington and Raleigh are, send me a message here or leave a comment.