# Importance of Real estate broker when selling?



## kevinz (Mar 7, 2016)

Hello

I am trying to sell my house (Lawrence and Avenue road area) for the first time and I'm wondering a few things. I've given the business to my friend who is a realtor and she's been listing my house for about half a year but no offers have been made yet (granted it is in the 2 million dollar range so the market is indeed smaller and it was listed in September so market may have been a bit slow). The issue is I haven't seen her brokerage company sell in my area and although she has plenty of experience selling houses, she's never sold in my particular area. My question is, how important is it to hire a realtor that specializes in one's area? Would they potentially bring more exposure from their networks? Given that the listings are on MLS anyway, would it make sense to pay more and go with a brokerage/broker that is more active in my area?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Kevin


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## naysmitj (Sep 16, 2014)

They all belong to the same real estate board.
Ask her what she believes you need to do to sell the house.


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## Mortgage u/w (Feb 6, 2014)

I think having the right agent given your caliber of home will make somewhat of a difference. If your agent is not well known or has no dealings with agents in the area, a collaborating agent may avoid your listing and steer their customer to a more familiar selling agent / listing. Since you are already in a smaller market, you want to maximize your chances. I believe choosing a specialized agent in your area is important. Although, if your property is in the correct price range for the area and has no reason for not selling, it could just be a timing issue. If you don't get any offers by the end of the summer, then you need to change something - be it price, aesthetics, or ultimately the agent.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Well, generally the last 6 months are the hardest time to sell houses and one of the best times to buy houses. I find that, after school has begun there are a lot less buyers looking. Then you get into the holidays, winter months, Xmas bills, etc. And it all compounds.

I find properties usually sit for months with few to no offers, which makes it great for buyers to come in and make offers. I got three different properties in the past 3 months for example, all well below listing prices, not one had a competing offer.

In the six months of spring and summer, there are more buyers out and about, it's harder to get the house you want, at the price you want to pay, much better for sellers. 

It was probably a mistake to list your house when you did, now there is the perception that there may be something wrong with it'd you'll get pressure to lower your price. Of course with high end properties, you may get some leeway n that as he market is smaller, and one can't expect them to move as quickly. Still, there is a lot of uncertainty in the market right now...people are worried about what's happening in places like Calgary, so it could also just be the market.

The listing agent doesn't really control the sale of your house. It may have helped if they normally sold similarly priced houses though because those agents would have people they could talk to about potentially purchasing the property, however its usually he buyer's agent who brings in the clients.

Of course, listing it when you did was a bit of a mistake, something a good agent would have warned you about, how they are presenting the property is also important, these are pricey homes, going the extra mile to stage it, take professional pictures, prepare a high end brochure, etc. Has a way of helping the sale...not sure if your realtor did any of that. If they aren't familiar with high end homes, and present it the same way as a lower end one, it could be hurting your chances. Also, did you actually price your home correctly...an unfamiliar agent could make these kinds of mistakes.


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## Newby1983 (Apr 9, 2015)

Price and time are probably off. End of March things usually pick up until July. If you don't start seeing motion by mid April I'd pull it off rethink your game plan for 5-6 months than re-list it with someone else. Another thing I once used a friend of a friend who was a realtor to find me a property...big mistake.


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## Ottawa Realtor (Aug 16, 2015)

Forget the notion that real estate agents 'steer' clients or pocket listings. That's not only illegal but not logical. The search system doesn't allow an agent to play these silly games. Whether you are a listing agent or cooperating brokerage you just want to make a commission so you are not going to restrict access to buyers or properties. With any property, unless it's a fixer upper, professional staging, professional pictures and most important price is going to get it sold. MLS does the rest.


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## rakeshtaak0 (Apr 6, 2016)

I think having the right real estate broker is important because if your agent is not well known and has not done any dealing in your area so it becomes difficult for you to sell your property. I believe choosing a broker, according to your area is important by which you can easily sell your property with their experience and guidance.


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## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

All good comments but the price range of your house is no doubt a factor as I expect the number of purchasers at this price is limited. A friend of mine who has a beautiful house and property has had only one showing since his house was listed 6 mos ago. Its listed at 6.5 million which is a very limited market!


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## SW20 MR2 (Dec 18, 2010)

IMO, agents barely do anything nowadays, especially in this market. I'm in the Markham area, and $1-2M homes are constantly in bidding wars. Given the challenges that you've experienced, I'd say it's one or more of the following:

- time period
- price
- house layouts and features - Is your house truly one that's desirable by many? Are other similar houses selling or not selling?
- house condition
- poorly staged or showing poorly - Is it cluttered? Are your colours neutral? Etc

We're all biased in how we look at homes, but just ask yourself whether it's the home itself or the way it's decorated/staged. When I look at a house, I can personally see beyond the clutter, colours, etc. But many people can't. Unfortunately, it affects the saleability of the house.


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## Davis (Nov 11, 2014)

Lawrence and Avenue Road (in Toronto) is a very desirable neighbourhood, and $2m does not at all seem out of range for the area. Without seeing the property, I don't think anyone here can tell you what went wrong. It would depend on the condition. If you are seeing something that needs a total reno at the price people are asking for fully modernized houses in the hood, then you may have a problem. 

Six months is ridiculous in Toronto. I recently interviewed three agents to sell a house for about half that in Toronto, and none of them said that winter was a slow time. The different between winter and spring should be the difference between very how and extremely hot. 

Has there been no action because the price is too high? Or was the agent not available to show the house?

I assume that your contract with her has expired. Why not treat this as a new contract, and interview at least three agents. If you like her, let her re-apply. But ask all of the applicant agents the same set of questions, staring with: What do you think is a reasonable price I should expect and why, and what strategies would you employ to get me that price?

You don't pick the agent who tells you the highest price. You pick the one who presents the best case for their estimate, and the most convincing strategy for getting that price. I found that the agent who was best known in the neighbour proposed a price that was an unreasonably low, and didn't explain well why she quoted that price. I think she was looking for a quick/easy sale. Another agent was very vague on a price range, but had a fairly good strategy for selling. The third agent presented convincing analytics on recent sales in the neighbourhood (they all provide that), and added in trends across Toronto, and a good story on who he thought the likely buyers would be. And then he presented a comprehensive "Action Plan", that was just more detailed than the others.

We ended up selling privately, so I can't tell you how it would have turned out with agent # 3.


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

JAG I would love for you to share where you are finding these homes because I have been looking daily since last February and cannot find anything on mls and been searching all price ranges and as far east as Niagara Falls lol.I dont think you can buy them all so help us out lol 





Just a Guy said:


> Well, generally the last 6 months are the hardest time to sell houses and one of the best times to buy houses. I find that, after school has begun there are a lot less buyers looking. Then you get into the holidays, winter months, Xmas bills, etc. And it all compounds.
> 
> I find properties usually sit for months with few to no offers, which makes it great for buyers to come in and make offers. I got three different properties in the past 3 months for example, all well below listing prices, not one had a competing offer.
> 
> ...


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## Durise (May 16, 2016)

Nowadays a real estate broker can do more than an agent. A broker know everything about your property but an agent might be not. So I suggest you to appoint a experienced broker for your house sell project.


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