What Home Buyers Look for in a Real Estate Agent

A recent study showed that home buyers look for five key characteristics when they hire a real estate agent.   

It’s no surprise that buyers want an agent who is honest and credible as their top priority. The study showed that buyers had past experiences with real estate agents that were not up to par, or in some cases, downright negative. 

For example, buyers don’t want to be pushed into looking at homes that are more expensive than what I call their “comfort zone.” The comfort zone for a buyer must include expenses beyond the mortgage payment.  

It makes sense that home buyers want to feel they can trust an agent, or better yet a Realtor (A Realtor is someone who belongs to local and national Realtor associations and has additional training and education credentials.) who also explains in detail what to expect for utility, heating, maintenance and repairs costs.  

Other things that buyers looked for from their agent were area familiarity, good follow through, organization and a good listener. 

I’m surprised that this particular study listed “good listener” as number five. I personally would put this right up there with honesty. I think we are so abbreviated in our conversations, with technology streamlining our methods of communication, that we sometimes lose focus on really listening to the needs and wants of a buyer. 

A real estate agent that asks a whole slew of questions to the buyer about what the buyer really wants will have a much better understanding of the desired home to present to the buyer. 

Statistics show that approximately 90 percent of people looking to buy a home start their search online. This is great. You can search from the comfort of your home, view lots of photos, get local tax information and even use an elementary mortgage calculator on a website. (Most of these calculators leave out the important tax and insurance figures.) But when it comes time to view that home, real people are involved, whether it's real estate agents or owners of the homes. Most of the time, it involves agents.  

So, choose your agent wisely. You will know in that first meeting and definitely by the second meeting, whether or not the trust, understanding, and good listening skills are there. 

Something I think this study left out, or is often overlooked, is the resources a good real estate agent can provide. 

For example, after a home inspection is completed and the inspector finds a problem that needs an expert evaluation, the real estate agents involved often have a whole network of experts he or she can call on for the evaluation. With time being of the essence, it’s a key element to get a trusted contractor or other expert quickly. 

The fact that the agreement between buyer and seller often hinges on a home inspection outcome, it is very important to have the right resources to get the information to the buyer and seller to make the most educated decisions possible about how to proceed with a repair. 

And, it's not just contractors that are needed for advice. It can be the need to switch from one mortgage lender to another for various reasons. A good agent has this at the ready. 

Maybe you have a story to share about your first experience with a real estate agent and what you liked or didn’t like? No names please!