I received a call from a woman named Stacey out of the blue one afternoon. Her call started out with an inquiry about a cute little 2 bedroom 2 bath condo walking distance from downtown Brea California that I had listed and had just recently sold. I was about to explain that we had just finished closing escrow on that unit and was about to ask how I could help her find another opportunity when she asked a question I didn't expect. Stacey wanted to know how long it was on the market for before it was under contract to be sold.This question was the last one I expected to hear. Stacey didn't want to know about buying the condo I had just sold, but how I was able to sell it so fast. Stacey and Sam lived in the same complex one building over from where my listing was. As it turns out, they too decided to sell their condo and hired the agent that was canvassing their neighborhood. They like that his "top producing" team sold more than 1,600 homes in 20 years, and they liked it even better when he promised that he could sell their home fast and for top dollar. That decision is when the nightmare began.
Stacey was 4 months pregnant with their second child. They needed an extra bedroom for the new baby and Sam didn't want his wife to have to climb stairs while juggling two children. They explained to this "top producing" agent that they bought the condo at the top of the market and needed to get everything dime they could out of it to put down on a new larger home. They also had the clock ticking with her due date. The agent explained that he could get the job done, but they would have to do everything he recommended in order for his plan to work and for him to deliver on his promises of getting top dollar. That seemed reasonable, and coming from a competent (so they thought) top selling agent, it is the right thing to do. So, Sam and Stacey agreed to follow his instructions so they could sell fast and for top dollar.
Step one of the agent's strategy was to make the condo as appealing as possible, so they asked this young couple to move themselves, along with all of their furnishings, out of their home so it could be professionally staged and shown 24/7. The agent explained that they would be supplying furnishings and decorations that would help the condo show well and stimulate offers. Moving them out he explained would eliminate scheduling issues because of the baby.
The only way Sam and Stacey could pull this off was to move back into her parent's home and fill her parent's garage with everything they owned. After moving in with her parents it was a slow adjustment for both of them, especially after being married and away for so long. With a second child on the way and a granddaughter to play with, Stacey's mom was ecstatic and both of them knew she could use the extra help. Thirty days turned into sixty days. Then calls started going unanswered. After being on the market for over 6 months with no offers, they decided to fire their "top producing" agent and move back home since the baby was already born.
After Stacey finished the story, she asked again - "how long did it take you to have your listing under contract." I told her that we hit our average timeframe of 10 days and closed escrow 30 days after that. She marveled as to how I could get such great results selling the same condo. That's when I had to share this mythbuster with her. Believe it or not, picking a great agent doesn't start or even end with how many "units" or homes they sold. Case in point, I have 40 years experience as a rehabber and am more involved in building custom homes now than selling new and used homes retail. On the surface, it doesn't look like I sell many homes and possibly am only part time. The facts are, I am full time and typically have a standard sale under contract in 10 days.
As you can see, measuring agent quality and likelihood of achieving good results will never be reflected in total units sold. This is just another tactic by the high producing groups. The numbers look impressive, and you figure, well if they could sell so many homes, they must be better at selling homes than the others. As you can see with this example, it's not the the number of homes they sold that counts, but the speed in which the asset was sold, combined with achieving a high list vs. sold price ratio that delivers the best yield for the seller.
Look for an agent that you feel comfortable and can trust first. Then, explore their skill sets first. The good ones will become your family's realtor for life.
Happy hunting!
Frank
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