Search online for a real estate agent to help you sell your home, and you’ll quickly be buried in a digital avalanche. Your social media feeds will be flooded with the smiling faces of agents eager to get your listing. All your Google Ads will be targeted at home sellers. You might even start getting some text messages from real estate professionals who heard you need some help.
The unfortunate truth is that most of the information you’ll be looking at in all of that marketing won’t be helpful. But if you know the stats that matter, you’ll be able to choose a listing agent in minutes who can effectively help you with the selling process.
“A homeowner trying to hire a listing agent is usually looking at a mix of postcards, portal stars, team billboards, ‘top agent this month’ claims, career totals, and a neighbor’s recollection,” says Chris Dold, founder and CEO of Agent Arena. “Very little of that answers the only questions that matter at the start: what did they close in your market on the listing side in the last 12 months?”
Dold has nearly 15 years of experience in construction, real estate development, and residential real estate sales, which has given him valuable insights into both sides of the realtor selection process. He founded Agent Arena to provide a more transparent and objective approach to realtor rankings that could help home buyers and sellers find realtors who are a good fit. Agent Arena uses MLS-verified sales data to provide a data-driven realtor ranking of the Top 100 agents in every Florida county, city, and ZIP code based on MLS-verified dollar volume sold over the prior 12 months. Agent Arena does not require agents to submit information or pay to appear in the rankings.
“As homeowners sift through all the materials agents may send their way, I would encourage them to ignore anything that cannot answer those three questions,” Dold says. “Focusing on data provided by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) on what agents closed in your market in the last 12 months will guide you to the agents who are best positioned to help you.”
3 factors that will lead you to the right real estate agent for selling your home
Dold points to three factors that should be top considerations when searching for a good seller’s agent. The first is relevance in the market.
No matter how many real estate transactions an agent has completed, if they aren’t in the seller’s market, then they shouldn’t be considered relevant. This is an important factor to consider since the real estate broker a listing agent works with may have brokerage operations in multiple communities.
“The market is where you look,” Dold says. “Staying focused on agents who are active in your market is critical. An agent who does a lot of business two towns over and none in your neighborhood won’t have the experience needed to quickly connect you with potential buyers.”
Sales should become your focus after you’ve limited your list to those in your market. Looking at closed residential sales dollar volume over the previous 12 months, credited to the primary agent on that side of the sale, will help you develop a list of the top agents who will have what it takes to sell your home.
“Sales is key to ranking because it is the measure of current involvement,” Dold says. “The more they have closed in that market recently, the more of the current conditions they have actually handled.”
Once you’ve identified the agents who can help, the final step is ensuring they are accessible. The best options will provide their phone numbers and respond quickly when you reach out. If they are slow to respond to you, they could be slow to respond to a buyer who is interested in your listing.
“If you have trouble going from a name on a list to a conversation, you should probably look to the next name on the list,” Dold warns.
How to prioritize personality when looking for a listing agent
Feeling like you need some chemistry with your listing agent is natural. But experts warn you shouldn’t make that the primary consideration.
“A listing is a relationship, so chemistry matters, but use it as the second step and not the first,” Dold says. “Once you’ve put together a top three list based on those who are actively selling in your market, sit down with two or three of them and ask how they would price the house, how they would talk about condition, and how they communicate. Hire the one you can work with among the people who have already been doing the work. Chemistry without recent local production is a first impression. Chemistry plus recent production is a hire.”
While selling a home can be a complicated process, identifying the right listing agent doesn’t need to be. By focusing on the right factors — home sales closed in your market in the last 12 months — you can choose a listing agent in minutes who can help you properly value, present, and sell your home.
