AgentsCompared.com Blog

My previous post on what a “top producer” means for the real estate consumer.

Here are some quotes on the subject from folks on Real Estate’s A-list. Thoughts?

“I know of a dozen ‘Top Producers’ who, through time spent or number of transactions closed, are driving under the influence of their own “success” but have no business being behind the wheel.”
–Kris Berg

“Suffice it too say, real estate is and always will be a personalized business built off of relationships. There will still be many, many consumers that will be happy, in fact, more than happy to hire the nice young 22-year old kid they met at an open house who isn’t carrying 15 other listings and willing to kill for their one and only customer.”
–Marc Davison (comment #13)

“I do think that its interesting that the number of units an agent sells is still equated with their proficiency or the level of advocacy and skill they bring to a new client or potential transaction – the truth is there really isn’t a correlation – you could sell a quantity of homes without being the best possible representative for a potential seller – maybe you sell so many because your sellers are intimidated into accepting the first offer they get or accepting terms that might not be optimal for them. Even the number of homes they sell in a specific market only shows where they are most active, not that they are the best agent for the job.While it does indicate a familiarity with that marketplace, it doesn’t mean that the agent is the hardest working, most creative, or the best negotiator – it only indicates (factually) that they had the highest volume. Perhaps I’m alone in the experience but I knew an agent who was extremely high volume and hard working, but really difficult to work with because they didn’t take care of details and were much more interested in facilitating the transaction than being the best advocate for their client – not that they didn’t do an acceptable job, but they didn’t do the ‘best’ job – and the cooperating agent always needed to be the ‘laboring oar’ in any transaction.”
–Bill Lublin (comment #13)

Over the weekend the Chicago Tribune ran a “special advertising section” on short sales, foreclosures, etc. One piece encouraged folks who are considering a short sale – from the buyer or seller side – to “hire experience.” Here are some highlights from the article:

When choosing a real estate agent on either the sell or buy side, one of the most fundamental issues to ask about is experience, says Mike Golden, co-founder of Chicago’s @Properties real estate brokerage. The agent you choose should be experienced in short sales, and able to take you step by step through the process, explaining how long it will take and your role at each stage, he says.
…
Sellers should also ask how the agent plans to market the home. The answer should be that the marketing effort will be as or more rigorous than that for a traditional sale, according to Alex Charfen, CEO of Austin, Texas-based Distressed Property Institute.
…
Buyers should ask real estate agents how many short sales they’ve completed, and in how many they represented the buyer, says Pat Kelly, broker-agent with Realty World All-Pro.

On a related subject, watch for future posts here that feature local Realtors® telling us what they look for when choosing an agent for themselves (i.e., when making a referral).