When selecting a Real Estate Agent to sell your home, you not only want your home to sell—but in a timely manner and for a price you are pleased with. While everyone starts out as a rookie and you may find a newbie Real Estate Agent who you feel a strong connection with, working with an experience agent can increase your selling price by an average of $25,000 per home. A study published in the Journal of Housing Research in of May 2012 shows that not only do Real Estate Agents with 10 or more years of experience sell their homes for a higher price point, but they sell a significantly higher volume of homes, and sell their homes much faster than Real Estate Agents with less than 10 years of experience. Below are 5 of the top advantages of working with a well-established and experience Real Estate Agent.
Reason #1 Practice Makes Perfect
Like anything new, practice not only makes perfect, but practice increases your speed and efficiency. An experienced Real Estate Agent has learned the tricks of the trade and knows what areas of opportunity to look for, and what industry pitfalls to avoid. As an agent matures professionally their confidence grows, meaning they are best able to deliver the sellers desired results.
Reason #2 Experienced Agents Sell More Homes
Not only are seasoned Real Estate Agents more knowledgeable and confident, but they sell more homes. Statistics show that agents with 10 or more years of sales, sell two-thirds of the homes they list, opposed to only one-half of the homes a rookie lists.
Reason #3 A Larger Network
An established agent has a larger network of clients, vendors, and professional contacts. This will be beneficial both when marketing your home and when preparing your home for sale. Whether your home is in need of staging, updates, or a refresh to make it more saleable, an experience Real Estate Agent knows who to call.
Reason #4 Stronger Negotiation Skills
As mentioned above an experienced Real Estate Agent sells their homes for an average of $25,000 more than a rookie agent. This is because they have had the time to perfect their negotiation skills to best meet your expectations as a client. They are also less focused on simply making a sale, and more on delivering your desired results.
Reason #5 They Will Be Honest With You
A rookie agent is often so eager to establish themselves that their desire to build their client base may blind them from being completely honest with their clients. This could be in terms of selling price, needs for updated landscaping, repairs, or in regards to the best ways to market your home. While are rookie may not want to offend you by disagreeing with your plan of action, an experience agent will listen to your ideas and concerns and respectfully give you their honest professional opinion. This lack of honesty can be the difference between your home being on the market for 6 months, or for over 1 year.
While your desire to give a rookie a chance, it is not in your best financial interest when it comes to selling your home. If the Real Estate Agent you are considering has less than 2 year’s experience, odds are that they will not be able to meet your expectations. When you rely on an established Real Estate Agent with 10 or more years in the industry your home will sell significantly faster, for a much higher price, and with a much smoother overall experience.