Choosing a real estate agent is obviously an important task when you are buying property. Property buyers want to get the best deal possible and for that, they want a competent agent to help them.

These are the main traits that people look for in a real estate agent when they want help buying property:

Trustworthiness

The reason most people choose a real estate agent by referral from friends and family is because they trust their friends and family. All the internet reviews in the world are not even worth a single good reference from someone’s best friend.

Honesty and integrity should obviously be something everyone works toward in their professional lives, but when dealing with such large events in people’s lives as buying and selling homes and businesses, real estate agents have to work that extra little bit to make sure potential clients know they can be trusted. Your reputation is everything in real estate.

Chris Oliver, spokesperson for Hauseit, says some agents have a less than stellar reputation due to things like keeping their own homes on the market longer and selling them for higher than that of their clients and using clients’  listings and open houseses to source more buyer clients.

Friendliness

The act of buying or selling property can drag on for a long time and it is notoriously stressful for the people involved. Even if you’re a hard-nosed negotiator who can whittle down a price for your clients, if you’re not pleasant to be around, people might not want to work with you.

A smile, a friendly attitude and giving off a positive vibe around clients is essential for making the entire buying process smooth and making sure you get one of those coveted referrals once the process is done.

Expertise

Property buyers tend to like dealing with agents who specialize in a certain area. Whether it be specializing in certain types of buildings like houses or commercial property or specializing in certain neighborhoods, potential clients like to see that you have a niche, as it makes them feel like you have a leg up on an “average” agent who is more generalized.

You don’t have to explicitly work in one area, but it helps if you have a reputation for being a specialist in that area.

Jonathan Cardella, founder of the now defunct NeighborCity, which used to rank and rate virtually every full-time real estate agent in the United States, says people searching for a real estate agent should choose one who is most fluent or well versed in the type of property they’re trying to buy.

“Ideally, you want the agent who is most ‘fluent’ or well versed in the subject property that you are seeking to buy or sell. Some agents specialize or lean towards doing more of the buy or sell side, this is another good indicator. But you definitely want someone who is in the top 5 producers for your neighborhood and price range. They will know how to price a property, what value to offer, how to make an offer attractive but not leave money on the table, etc. They will also have a lot of contacts and ‘pull’ if they are a mover and shaker and this will get your offer heard, your property toured, and perhaps save you money.”

Good Negotiating Skills

While the vast majority of people will simply ask a friend for a recommendation, some will put in the work to check out your last several transactions to see how you did on them. Obviously, buyers want to know how much you can bring down the price on a property.

Being able to shave off as much as possible from the price is everyone’s goal when purchasing and the more you’re able to do this, the better you’ll appear to prospective clients.

Jason Zhang, formerly with HomeLight, a website that finds the top real estate agents in a given area, says people want the best agents because they:

• buy homes for 4-9% less than an average agent,
• have 10x more experience closing deals than an average agent, and
• have the local connections to get clients into homes before they hit the market.

Reasonable Fee

People know that agents do a lot for them and take much of the headache out of buying property, but just as they want to only pay a reasonable price on a piece of property, they also want to only have to pay a reasonable fee to their real estate agent.

You might think you’re worth putting an extra percentage point on your fee, but price yourself too high and you could be pricing yourself out of a lot of people’s price ranges.

By keeping your reputation stellar, your fee reasonable and your skills sharp, you will easily be able to attract clients looking to make possibly the biggest purchase of their lives.

To help you convey all that, it helps to have a professionally made animated explainer video. Click here to schedule an appointment with WizMotions to see how we can help you make the perfect video to help you with your real estate business.

[Main image: Scott Maxwell/Flickr]