In the market for a new home?

SMART BUYERS SHOULD SEEK OUT SKILLED REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Homebuyers spend more and more of their search time online, scanning listings and real estate sites.

“But the human factor — namely a skilled agent — still provides value,” says Denise Akason, adjunct lecturer at the real estate center at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

“For one thing, agents can provide insight about a home’s features and flaws that’s not available online,” Akason says.

In fact, online data on current list prices and recent sale amounts can actually mislead buyers since the internet doesn’t capture certain information, such as whether a kitchen has new appliances or if a home shows signs of past water damage.

The latest study by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that most buyers do use an agent, but that 75 percent don’t consider more than one agent to represent them.

Akason suggests interviewing a few, asking questions including:

1) Do you regularly view broker’s open houses on properties I’m likely to be interested in?

Only agents are able to tour homes at broker’s open houses, which occur right when a property is listed. By regularly visiting these open houses, agents might find homes that don’t look appealing online but are worth seeing in person.

2) Could you tell me about instances when you’ve pointed out a feature that a buyer might not realize is important?

Subtleties, like a basement washing machine on blocks usually indicates past flooding, but are unlikely to be noticed by a buyer.

3) Can I contact past buyers you’ve worked with?

The NAR 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers found that 56 percent of buyers ranked “finding the right property” as the most difficult step in purchasing. Meanwhile 20 percent said the “paperwork” was the most difficult step, followed by 16 percent who thought “understanding the process” was where they needed help the most.

If past clients say an agent was effective in helping them through the difficulties, it’s more likely they’ll help you.