Working with a Real Estate Agent

You're sitting with a real estate agent to list your home for sale. You ask the agent for an opinion on price, but something inside you wonders if you should really listen to his or her opinion. After they leave, you go on a site like www.Zillow.com to really gauge what's happening in the market place.

Richard Streitz of Baldwin Realty in Southern California says sellers forget when they're hiring an agent they really are hiring an expert. "So often, sellers feel they know better than the agent especially with so much information available to check online."

But beware. Streitz says web sites like Zillow may be as much as 6 months behind in information. Many factors go in to pricing a home such as the motivation of the seller, financing, or the difference of neighborhoods within one zip code. In the Southern California community of Altadena, only a few miles from Pasadena's famed Rose Bowl, prices of homes can change 30% to 40% within blocks.

I witnessed a dramatic price difference in my Altadena neighborhood during the past two months. A home two doors to the west sold for almost $ 800,000 while a home across the street from ours sold for $ 695,000. Here are two houses -- about 75 yards apart - of similar sizes and condition in the same neighborhood yet selling dramatically differently from each other. The more expensive one is right next to a golf course, but the least expensive one does have a swimming pool.

A lack of respect for the role of the agent is also a problem, remarked Streitz. And that problem may be the responsibility of the agent's themselves.

"An agent has to communicate with people of all backgrounds," says Streitz. "Whether educated professionals or those without a college education, a real estate agent will work with a variety of people. The need to communicate on an interpersonal level is more important than the marketing postcards, brochures and ads an agent may use to gain awareness and get meetings in the first place."

A real estate agent needs to answer the questions or insecurities of a seller. If they don't display confidence - important when discussing pricing strategies -- then the seller is naturally going to have questions remain. He believes successful real estate agents are successful communicators.

In an open house, Streitz believes an agent has about 10 seconds to make a solid first impression and come across as an expert for that particular area. While he feels home sellers should place their trust and respect in agents more readily, he also believes agents need to learn how to engage the people they're meeting and gain their trust.