From the outside, listing a home looks easy: put a sign in the front yard, take some photos, and post the listing online. Then wait for the offers to roll in. Nothing to it!
Except, that’s not how it works.
There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes when listing a home. Here’s an insider’s look at what your listing agent is doing to get your home sold successfully.
1. Value Analysis and Pricing Strategy
Pricing your home correctly is critical for getting you top dollar. An overpriced home will languish on the market until a price reduction is necessary. At that point, reducing the price could make buyers wonder if something is wrong with the property.
So your listing agent will invest the time in calculating the fair value of your property under current market conditions. We look at recent sales of homes that are comparable to yours to see how much those sold for. Then we adjust those sales prices to account for differences in size, age, condition, location, etc. to determine how much your house is worth.
2. Creating Marketing Materials
Creating custom marketing materials for each listing takes time. In most cases, we hire a professional photographer to take the listing photos of your home, then we use those photos in our marketing materials. But we also make a lot of content ourselves, including writing the sales copy, taking property videos, and compiling this content into appealing marketing packages.
Your listing agent is probably making digital content like:
- 3D tours,
- Video Walkthrus,
- Social media graphics, and
- Email blasts,
As well as print materials like:
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Flyers,
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Brochures, and
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Mailers.
3. Personally Contacting a Network of Buyers
Most agents work with both buyers and sellers, so your listing agent should have a list of active buyers. You can bet your agent is personally reaching out to their buyers to see if your listing could be a good fit for them. But, more than that, your agent is personally reaching out to other agents so that those agents can personally alert their buyers.
The more interest we can generate in your home, the greater our chances of getting competing offers, which can give you an edge in negotiations, and maybe even drive up the price!
4. Fielding Inquiries
Listing agents spend a lot of time taking phone calls about your property. We also reply to countless emails, texts, and DMs.
Many of these inquiries come from people who haven’t taken the time to read the full listing description or who can’t qualify for the financing needed to purchase your property. So you never hear about all these non-leads.
But when we do make contact with an interested, qualified potential buyer, we will spend time building up your property and making arrangements for a showing.
5. Drafting, Reviewing, and Organizing Legal Docs
Do you know what disclosures are legally required when selling your home? Your listing agent does!
Not only do agents know how to draft the required legal documents for transferring property, but they also invest time in keeping up to date on the ever-changing legal requirements.
We also spent a fair bit of time researching to find the information needed for all these forms. And we keep track of who needs to sign what and when.
6. Negotiating to Get You the Best Possible Terms
You’ll certainly be kept in the loop any time we receive an offer on your property. And your listing agent should never negotiate without discussing terms with you. But you might be surprised at how much back and forth goes on when negotiating an offer or renegotiating terms because of issues with an inspection or appraisal.
Simply reaching the buyer’s agent to have a discussion can require multiple phone calls and emails. But we won’t stop until we’re sure we’ve gotten you the best deal possible.
7. Coordinating the Closing
When does the home inspector need access to the property? What kind of access will the appraiser need? When will the title search be completed?
There are lots of moving parts to every real estate transaction. Your listing agent will work closely with the many professionals involved in the process to make sure your closing goes as smoothly as possible.
You Deserve the Best!
When it comes to hiring a listing agent, you deserve the best. The experts at Sequoia Real Estate would be honored to help you get the best price and the best terms on your home sale.
Whether you are ready to sell now, or you simply want to explore your options with a well-qualified listing agent, contact Sequoia Real Estate for your free consultation today!
