How To Find and Qualify Top Real Estate Agents

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Working with a good Realtor® is essential when trying to buy or sell a home at the best price. If a Realtor® doesn’t give your deal enough time or energy, you could end up having an awful experience and suffering financially.  Most people know they need to find a good real estate agent, but few know where to find one – or how to properly qualify them. We’re here to help.  Check out these tips to find top real estate agents and properly vet them for your needs. 

Where to Find Top Real Estate Agents

The first place that many people turn when they look for a real estate agent is through a “realtors near me” Google search. But there are problems with this approach. A Google search doesn’t necessarily show you the best realtors. It shows you the realtors with offices near you who have invested in obtaining reviews. Just because an agent ranks in local search does not mean that he/she possesses the skill or experience necessary to manage your transaction.  Effective Agents has been ranking real estate agents since 2009.  In fact, we were the first company in the United States to rank real estate agents based on their actual performance. We look beyond an agent's search ranking prowess to pair buyers or sellers with the specific agent they need - based on that agent's actual sales record. We ask buyers and sellers a bit about the property they need to sell or where they are looking to buy a home and our  proprietary algorithm matches them with the Realtor® best equipped to meet their needs.  Buyers and sellers have a better experiences with this method as opposed to doing a quick internet search. They can find an agent who specializes in their area, home needs, and unique situation (like selling an inherited home or buying in a new city).  See how you can find an agent that is a perfect match for your needs and wants. Use our unique algorithm to find a top real estate agent today.   

How to Qualify a Real Estate Agent

Once you identify a few real estate agents you may want to work with, it’s time to evaluate them. Essentially, treat this as a job application process – because it is.  You should start with 4-5 candidates that you have found through a reasonable amount of web research.  Through this interview process you should narrow your list down. Consider these steps as you find your ideal real estate agent.
  1. Read online reviews from multiple sources. Check different sites that offer reviews to find top candidates. Just because a Realtor® has several positive Google reviews doesn’t mean there aren’t differing opinions and better options on other listing sites. 
  2. Look for Realtors® that specialize in your needs. Not every Realtor® understands the nuances of condo sales or knows the market for a certain neighborhood. You are better off finding a Realtor® in this niche to help you.   
  3. Find local Realtors® near you. See if there are any Realtors® in your neighborhood or in the neighborhood you want to live in. They will be an expert in the area  and will have a developed local sphere of influence and a more refined pricing strategy.
  4. Meet with candidates in person. Even if a real estate agent seems like they are the best option, their online presence might differ from their in-person responses. Get a feel for their personality and what it will be like working with them.
  5. Ask for a presentation on their marketing strategy (if you’re a seller). Provide information up-front about your needs and then ask the Realtor® how they would prepare your home to sell and then market it.
  6. Ask for their sales record and past performance.  Specifically, you should ask how long it takes them to sell homes, ADOM (Active Days On Market)...how many homes they've sold in the last 12 months and what their average list/sale price ratio is.  Essentially your objective should be to determine what realtor sells the most homes in your area.  EffectiveAgents.com can save you a lot of this trouble because our algorithm actively sorts through this data, dynamically.
As you can see, the top real estate agents for your needs might not be the ones that immediately pop up online. Following a set of performance criteria can help you find the best agent possible. 

Try Our Innovative System to Find Top Real Estate Agents

You can spend hours reading online reviews and conducting Google searches on your top real estate agent options, or you can give our platform a try. It's objective and unbiased. Effective Agents uses several data points and a weighted algorithm to identify an agent that is likely to produce a favorable outcome for your transactions. Whether you are trying to sell a house in a different state or want to buy a home for the first time, we can find the top real estate agent for you. 

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