Selling

CHOOSING AN AGENT

What do agents do?

The basic job of a real estate agent is to sell your home for the best price possible, as quickly as possible. Agents act in your own interests, delivering a range of crucial services from the early stages to the final settlement. These services include:

• advising you on how much you can expect to receive for your property, and whether you should sell by private treaty or at auction
• advertising your property
• bringing your home before potential buyers
• negotiating the selling price between you and the potential buyers
• facilitating the actual sale of your property and the final exchange of contracts.

In return for these services, all agents will ask a fee for the time and costs involved in selling your property.

Choosing an agent

Since for most Australians, property is their single largest asset, it’s important to deal with an agent you know you can trust. It may be worth your while to:

• ask your agent to discuss the ethical standards they work by
• check they have a sound knowledge of the local property market, and find out what properties they have sold over the past year, and at what price
• get them to explain their proposed marketing strategy and how they intend to keep you updated on their progress
• check that they have a good reputation both with past clients, and within the real estate industry.

When choosing an agent, remember to check whether they are a member of the respective Real Estate Institute in your State or Territory. REI members have a commitment to service and professional standards, and are bound by strict codes of conduct. In addition, REI members have access to a wide range of professional development opportunities enabling them to enhance their skills and offer quality customer service.

Agent’s commission

Every agent you approach should provide you with a quote to sell your home, setting out a predicted selling price and the agent's fee. Remember to ask for exactly what the commission buys you: some agents will offer newspaper advertising alone, while others may organise open house inspection days, letterbox drops and other effective forms of promotion. For this reason, the agent with the lowest commission fee is not necessarily the wisest economic option.

Agency options

One decision you will need to make when selling your property is the type of agreement between you and the agency selling your home. There are several possible options:

• Exclusive agency agreement, where you deal only with one real estate agent, whose fee is payable however the property is sold.
• Sole agency agreement, the same as an exclusive agency agreement, except that the owner may sell his or her property privately without paying the agent's fee.
• Open agency agreement, where you engage a number of real estate agents, and only the agent who sells your property receives the commission. Under this agreement, you may gain extended coverage, but could find that the sale of your property becomes a much lower priority than if you had engaged an exclusive agent.
• Auction agency agreement, where your agent organises the auction of your home.
• Multiple listing agency agreement, where your personal agent works with a co-operative network of agents to sell your home.

For further information contact the Real Estate Institute in your State or Territory.